Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan has announced the formation of an Anti-Human Trafficking Unit in his department to implement a new national strategy against human trafficking.
Mr Lenihan made his announcement during a speech at the Committee Stage of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Bill 2007.
The Bill - introduced on October 10th - makes it an offence to recruit, transport, transfer to another person or otherwise cause the travel of a person to or from the State for the purpose of the person's sexual or labour exploitation, or the removal of his or her organs.
Conviction for an offence under this Bill, when enacted, will be punishable by a maximum life sentence.
The new unit will liaise with An Garda Síochána and the Immigration Service, the Minister said. It will also engage with the NGO community, who, he said, will have an important role to play, particularly in relation to follow-up service provision to victims of human trafficking.
A senior official from the Department of Justice will head up the unit, as its executive director. This person "will be a key member of a high level group being established to develop effective mechanisms and strategies to deal with the issue of human trafficking and to prevent such activity taking place in this jurisdiction", Mr Lenihan added.
"The executive director will also have a key role to play in finalising the National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Human Trafficking, which is being prepared at the moment."
A public consultation period on this plan has begun.
The Minister said human trafficking is a crime that crosses national state boundaries, and the head of the new unit will have a central role in maintaining contact with other EU states.