Girls who have been trafficked into Ireland for prostitution are treated like criminals while the traffickers get away scot-free, Fine Gael's foreign affairs spokesman Bernard Allen said in the Dáil.
"We do not have any systems in place to deal in an effective manner with such girls who are the victims of human trafficking," he said.
Mr Allen also said that the State was continuing to classify the problem as an immigration issue rather than a human rights issue and that Ireland's controls were lax and the passport system was porous.
Minister of State Noel Treacy rejected the allegations and said the Minister for Justice was preparing legislation to ensure no loophole could be utilised in future and that people could not be exploited. Some €1.7 million had been provided through Irish Aid for anti-trafficking projects carried out by the International Labour Organisation.
"The EU is at one on this issue. We are totally committed to ensuring that human trafficking does not take place here. The House can be assured that this country's system of passport control is very tight."
He said "the problems which have been mentioned tend to develop after the passport control stage".
