Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2021-10-20
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Alice-Mary Higgins (IND), National University of Ireland

I am glad that there is engagement on this area with civil society organisations. There was a lot of disappointment that so many of the recommendations made by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC, were not reflected in the Bill. I hope there will also be engagement with it on the human rights obligations outlined.
The Minister of State may not be able to come back to the post-enactment report, but I hope he will. Post-enactment reports can be blunt and refer to the number of prosecutions full stop. Detailed issues, such as the number of prosecutions in which section 9 was found to be relevant or the outcomes for smuggled persons who have had engagement with the Bill, might be included. I hope that the Minister of State will indicate whether those very important metrics will be reflected in the post-enactment report and that he ensures they are part of it. We should not have a simple headline figure. I see the Minister of State is nodding, and I hope he is indicating that will be the case. It will be important for us to know how this law is panning out.
I understand a document is not the vehicle for addressing smuggling, but smuggling legislation is a key intervention within this landscape. That is why it is important that we try to get it right. I will press a couple of these amendments because they are good. I will follow up directly with the Minister of State on the post-enactment report.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2021-10-20/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:49:43+00:00
Sitting date: 2021-10-20