Immigrant Council to launch report on expolitative sham marriages

The Immigrant Council of Ireland is set to launch a new report looking into exploitative sham marriages in Ireland.

The report, to be launched in Dublin on Monday, is the first ever research report on an emerging form of human exploitation in Europe.

It is the outcome of an international project, Hestia, aimed at preventing human trafficking and sham marriages. The project is supported by the European Commission and involves Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland and Slovakia, as well as Ireland.

Brian Killoran, chief executive of the Immigrant Council of Ireland, said: “This report is the culmination of two years of transnational cooperation and research.

“It came about because service providers were noticing increased incidents of marriages between EU and non-EU nationals where exploitation of one or both parties had occurred. In many such incidents, there were strong indicators of human trafficking.

“The report explores this phenomenon of exploitative sham marriages, and marks an important first step in working with government and policymakers across Europe to identify and respond to this issue.”

Mr Killoran will address Monday’s launch event, alongside Immigrant Council solicitor Katie Mannion; report co-author Dr Monica O’Connor; Tara Storey from the Department of Justice’s anti-human trafficking unit; and Nusha Yonkova, anti-trafficking manager with the Immigrant Council.