Ann Mara

Appreciation to our colleagues @MaynoothUni for hosting us this afternoon for a workshop on #ChildTrafficking - tremendous to meet so many students and academic staff #HumanTrafficking #Education

What is #ChildTrafficking and what does it look like in #Ireland youtu.be/pyZb8HK27zQ

“Under existing law, a child who is exploited for criminal activity may already meet the definition of a victim of human trafficking, depending on the circumstances of the case.” @OCallaghanJim @rodericogorman #pq_642" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">oireachtas.ie/en/debates/que… this significant shift in language is welcomed

A powerful delivery by @Sosa_Est7th stands out after 2 days @osce_odihr @OSCE #Alliance #CTHB26 - a young person, a child, whose life was labelled by adults incorrectly as he grew to adulthood- his vulnerability undetected but presenting behaviours punished #CCE Thank You Sosa!

Great to join so many familiar faces @OSCE @IrelandOSCE at #CTHB26 with a special focus on #Trafficking #Criminality

📣 Monday&Tuesday: the 26th Alliance Conference goes live from Vienna. Forced criminality is a fast growing and underreported dimension of human trafficking. 🔴 Join us live 👇 📺 osce.org/live ⏰ 13:30 CET - Monday / 10:15 CET - Tuesday #CTHB26 #askOSCE

Appreciation to all who have engaged in our #PSA education programme over the past 30 months #Security #ChildTrafficking #HumanTrafficking mecpaths.com/mecpaths-has-e…

'Fagin’s Law' fails to stop gangs luring children irishexaminer.com/news/courtandc…

@IPRT breakingnews.ie/ireland/childr… #CCE #ChildTrafficking #Ireland

𝐓𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐚 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐈𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 A report by Ali Bracken in today’s Sunday Independent highlights growing concern that the number of children being trafficked into Ireland for criminal and sexual exploitation is far higher than official figures suggest, with experts warning that current detections represent only “the tip of the iceberg”. Recent figures from the Department of Justice show a sharp rise in identified victims. In the most recent year, 18 minors were identified among 114 trafficking victims, compared to 10 children out of 67 victims the previous year. While this increase suggests improved detection, campaigners believe it reflects only a fraction of the true scale of the problem. According to JP O’Sullivan of MECPATHS, the majority of children identified over the past two years have been Vietnamese nationals trafficked into Ireland to work in illegal cannabis grow houses. He also warned that children are being trafficked for sexual exploitation, in some cases as young as 14. While public perception often focuses on children being brought into Ireland, the report emphasises that trafficking also occurs internally. Children already living in Ireland, particularly those in vulnerable situations, are being groomed and exploited by criminal networks. O’Sullivan pointed to evidence of children in Tusla care being targeted by gangs and drawn into criminal activity. Research from University College Dublin has previously highlighted how vulnerable children in residential care are groomed by groups of men for sexual exploitation. This underscores the heightened risks faced by children in Tusla care, where instability and vulnerability can make them prime targets for exploitation. Concerns have also been raised about the lack of comprehensive Irish data on the scale of trafficking and exploitation. O’Sullivan called for mandatory human trafficking training for all Gardaí and the establishment of a national child specific referral system, which would act as a coordinated safety mechanism for identifying and supporting victims. Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín echoed concerns that child trafficking is significantly under reported. He pointed to cases where children in Tusla care later reappeared in exploitative situations, including one instance where a girl was found in a brothel a year after being in care. Tóibín also highlighted broader systemic failures, noting that 234 children who were either in Tusla care or known to Tusla died between 2014 and 2026. He argued that alongside trafficking from abroad, Ireland must confront serious internal failings, where vulnerable children are not adequately protected and are instead exposed to exploitation. The report suggests that both external trafficking and internal exploitation are part of the same wider problem, where children at risk are being drawn into criminal and sexual exploitation networks. In response, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said the Department of Justice is seeking to undertake dedicated research into child trafficking through the 2026 Research Ireland Public Service Fellowship. This research aims to better understand the extent of trafficking in Ireland and to inform future policy and operational responses. He added that significant measures have already been taken to combat human trafficking, including efforts to improve victim identification, raise awareness, and provide training for professionals. However, the overall picture presented in Bracken’s report is one of a growing and largely hidden crisis, where increasing detections may reflect only a small portion of a much wider and deeply concerning reality.

Police are warning that dangerous predators are using vape shops as fronts to groom children on their way home from school. Detective Sergeant Toyene Lait from the Met Police is urging other victims to come forward after one survivor told Channel 4 News she was raped by a shop owner when she was 14, and that he lured her and her friends to the back of his shop, plying them with free vapes.

📣 The 26th OSCE Alliance against Trafficking in Persons Conference is coming up this April, addressing forced criminality to: 🔍 find gaps in identifying victims, 🤝 protect trafficked persons, ⚖️ & to hold the real perpetrators accountable. Learn more👉cthb.osce.org/event/alliance…

Thieves, drug dealers, scammers... They look like criminals. What if some of them were victims? 👉17% of detected trafficking victims across the @OSCE region are coerced into crime - 65% in some countries. Join us at the #CTHB26! 🗓️Apr 20-21 Vienna & online 📲cthb.osce.org/event/alliance… "The rise of forced criminality: Addressing a security blind spot" 🛑🫸#HumanTrafficking

𝐓𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐚 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐈𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 A report by Ali Bracken in today’s Sunday Independent highlights growing concern that the number of children being trafficked into Ireland for criminal and sexual exploitation is far higher than official figures suggest, with experts warning that current detections represent only “the tip of the iceberg”. Recent figures from the Department of Justice show a sharp rise in identified victims. In the most recent year, 18 minors were identified among 114 trafficking victims, compared to 10 children out of 67 victims the previous year. While this increase suggests improved detection, campaigners believe it reflects only a fraction of the true scale of the problem. According to JP O’Sullivan of @MECPATHS, the majority of children identified over the past two years have been Vietnamese nationals trafficked into Ireland to work in illegal cannabis grow houses. He also warned that children are being trafficked for sexual exploitation, in some cases as young as 14. While public perception often focuses on children being brought into Ireland, the report emphasises that trafficking also occurs internally. Children already living in Ireland, particularly those in vulnerable situations, are being groomed and exploited by criminal networks. O’Sullivan pointed to evidence of children in Tusla care being targeted by gangs and drawn into criminal activity. Research from University College Dublin has previously highlighted how vulnerable children in residential care are groomed by groups of men for sexual exploitation. This underscores the heightened risks faced by children in Tusla care, where instability and vulnerability can make them prime targets for exploitation. Concerns have also been raised about the lack of comprehensive Irish data on the scale of trafficking and exploitation. O’Sullivan called for mandatory human trafficking training for all Gardaí and the establishment of a national child specific referral system, which would act as a coordinated safety mechanism for identifying and supporting victims. @AontuIE leader @Toibin1 echoed concerns that child trafficking is significantly under reported. He pointed to cases where children in Tusla care later reappeared in exploitative situations, including one instance where a girl was found in a brothel a year after being in care. Tóibín also highlighted broader systemic failures, noting that 234 children who were either in Tusla care or known to Tusla died between 2014 and 2026. He argued that alongside trafficking from abroad, Ireland must confront serious internal failings, where vulnerable children are not adequately protected and are instead exposed to exploitation. The report suggests that both external trafficking and internal exploitation are part of the same wider problem, where children at risk are being drawn into criminal and sexual exploitation networks. In response, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said the Department of Justice is seeking to undertake dedicated research into child trafficking through the 2026 Research Ireland Public Service Fellowship. This research aims to better understand the extent of trafficking in Ireland and to inform future policy and operational responses. He added that significant measures have already been taken to combat human trafficking, including efforts to improve victim identification, raise awareness, and provide training for professionals. However, the overall picture presented in Bracken’s report is one of a growing and largely hidden crisis, where increasing detections may reflect only a small portion of a much wider and deeply concerning reality.

Rise in children trafficked here to work in cannabis grow-houses is ‘only the tip of the iceberg’ independent.ie/irish-news/ris…

#CCE continues to fly unchecked with labels of criminality easier to apply than mechanisms of safeguarding #ChildTrafficking

𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐌𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐮𝐬𝐥𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 A report in the Irish Examiner by Ann Murphy highlights deeply troubling concerns regarding the large number of migrant children who remain missing in Ireland, with renewed scrutiny now focusing on the role of State agencies, including Tusla, in safeguarding these vulnerable young people. The issue has been brought sharply into focus by the Special Rapporteur on Racial Equality and Racism, Ebun Joseph, who described herself as “in shock” after reviewing findings that more than 130 children and young people who disappeared over the past five decades remain missing. While some high profile Irish cases are included, the overwhelming majority of those unaccounted for are migrant children, many of whom have never received sustained public attention. The report details patterns of disappearances that raise serious systemic concerns. These include clusters of children going missing from specific accommodation centres, often within short timeframes, and in some cases on the same day. Particularly striking are cases involving groups of Chinese teenagers who disappeared between 2006 and 2009, alongside multiple incidents involving children from a wide range of countries including Nigeria, Somalia, Afghanistan and Romania. Central to these concerns is the role of Tusla, the State body charged with the care and protection of separated children seeking international protection. The report highlights a significant gap in Tusla’s records, with the agency unable to provide verified data for key years between 2006 and 2009, when many of these disappearances occurred. This absence of reliable data raises serious questions about oversight, monitoring and accountability during a critical period. Tusla has acknowledged that there were risks associated with children absconding from care, particularly among certain groups, and pointed to links with An Garda Síochána in managing these risks. However, the scale and pattern of the disappearances outlined in the report suggest systemic failures that go beyond individual cases, pointing instead to weaknesses in how vulnerable migrant children were protected within the State’s care system. Ebun Joseph has indicated that she will now raise the matter directly with Government and is seeking to bring together stakeholders across ethnic communities and public bodies to examine the issue further. She warned that the numbers involved are far too high to be explained simply by children choosing to leave care, and criticised the absence of any sustained national response, stating that no “red alert” was ever triggered. The findings raise profound questions about how children in State care, particularly those already vulnerable due to displacement and migration, could disappear in such numbers without a coordinated or transparent response. In this context, Tusla’s role, record keeping, and duty of care are likely to come under increasing scrutiny as calls grow for accountability and systemic reform.

PSNI Reaffirms Commitment to Protecting Children as Focus Expands to Tackle Child Criminal Exploitation psni.police.uk/latest-news/ps…

As we mark #ChildExploitationAwarenessDay to extend our ongoing appreciation to our network who are committed to preventing #CCE #CSE on a daily basis… your collaboration is valued and so valuable.. #Network #Collaboration #ThankYou