Ireland not meeting 'minimum standards' to eliminate human trafficking according to US Government

Leinster House

Niall Feiritear

The Irish Government is not meeting the "minimum standards" for the elimination of human trafficking, according to the US State Department's 2025 report into the issue.

The American Government's 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) put Ireland at 'tier two' level for the fourth consecutive year.

The TIP report highlighted a lack of convictions for labour trafficking, serious gaps in victim referral, assistance, identification and a failure to implement the new National Referral Mechanism (NRM).

Also noted was inadequate accommodation for trafficking victims and a lack of trafficking-specific training for judges.

The report did acknowledge the Irish government's increased efforts- including more investigations, convictions and funding for victim assistance and awareness.

Human trafficking in Europe (Interpol)

Top priority recommendations of the US Government report include:

Implementing the new National Referral Mechanism to allow formal victim identification and access to care without requiring victims’ cooperation or interaction with law enforcement and by entities other than the police, including civil society and other relevant frontline officials.

• Using the new NRM, proactively identify and protect all victims, especially Irish citizens, victims of labor trafficking and forced criminality, and vulnerable populations like children, sea fishers, and asylum-seekers.

  
  

• Consistently and uniformly assign a family liaison officer to all trafficking victims cooperating with law enforcement.

  
  

• Vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms, and ensure labor trafficking is pursued as such rather than as labor code violations.

  
  

• Consistently enforce strong regulations and oversight of labor recruitment companies, including for domestic workers and au pairs, by enforcing the law prohibiting worker-paid recruitment fees and holding fraudulent labor recruiters criminally accountable.

  
  

• Offer specialized trauma-informed accommodations to trafficking victims that are safe and appropriate.

  
  

• Continue to systematically train law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges on a victim-centered, trauma-informed approach, including use of corroborating evidence, and sensitize judges to the severity of trafficking crimes.

  
  

• Ensure victims are not inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, especially in cannabis production facilities.

  
  

• Increase the availability and quality of legal assistance provided to victims during investigations and court proceedings and ensure legal assistance can be accessed at the earliest opportunity and prior to engaging with police.

  
  

• Establish a national hotline to report for all forms of trafficking crimes, including labor trafficking.

  
  

• Increase awareness of, and trafficking victims’ access to, damages and increase efforts to systematically request restitution for all trafficking victims during criminal trials.

Meanwhile, a global operation coordinated by INTERPOL has led to the safeguarding of 4,414 potential victims of human trafficking and the detection of 12,992 irregular migrants across 119 countries.

Operation Liberterra III saw the arrest of 3,744 suspects, including more than 1,800 for human trafficking and migrant smuggling offences, based on initial reporting from participating countries.

During the operation, law enforcement agencies mobilized more than 14,000 officers, conducting hotspot surveillance and targeted raids, as well as reinforced border controls.

Authorities opened more than 720 new investigations, many of which are ongoing.

INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said:

“The level of enforcement action highlights strong cooperation, but the wider trends which have been revealed are just as important. Criminal networks are evolving, exploiting new routes, digital platforms and vulnerable populations. Identifying these patterns allows law enforcement to anticipate threats, disrupt networks earlier and better protect victims.”

Interpol human trafficking arrest

Major findings include:

• Trafficking-fueled scam schemes remain a serious concern in Asia and Africa, but improved intelligence, detection and screening mechanisms are resulting in more arrests and hundreds of victims being repatriated.

• While sexual exploitation remains highly reported, forced labour and forced criminality are increasing, with domestic servitude and organ removal also detected.

• Cases involving victims from the Americas and Asia in Africa point to changing trafficking dynamics, contrasting with historically observed patterns of African victims being trafficked abroad.

• Migration patterns in the Americas have largely reversed, with South American nationals now travelling southward through Central America.

• There is continued pressure along Atlantic and Mediterranean maritime routes, particularly from West and North Africa toward Europe.

• Authorities are increasingly using online monitoring to detect and track trafficking and smuggling networks.

• Human trafficking and migrant smuggling continue to be closely linked to crimes such as document fraud, money laundering and drug trafficking.

In Spain, authorities dismantled a criminal network trafficking women for sexual exploitation through beauty salons and massage parlours in Barcelona and Marbella, identifying 21 victims.

The women, mostly of Colombian origin, had been subjected to constant surveillance, abuse, and forced to repay debts of EUR 6,000 through prostitution. The same premises were also used for drug sales.

In the United Kingdom, authorities continued a successful programme with the logistics sector, deploying officers to rest areas to engage lorry drivers, identify risks, gather intelligence and promote anonymous reporting.

The US Government report regarding Ireland can be found here.