The 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report from the US State Department continues to list Ireland as a “tier 2” country, meaning that it “does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so”.

The UK, Germany and France are among the 33 countries ranked as “tier 1”.

The report’s section on Ireland acknowledges “overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period”, including the initiation of the first prosecutions for labour trafficking in the State and the conviction of more traffickers under non-trafficking statutes.

However, the report noted that Ireland has yet to secure a conviction for labour trafficking and said the State has tended to rely on prosecuting traffickers under “non-trafficking statues that may have, at times, resulted in inadequate penalties”.

It also highlighted “systemic deficiencies in victim identification, referral and assistance”, including as a result of Ireland’s failure to implement the revised national referral mechanism (NRM).

“The government did not report providing trafficking-specific training to any judges and has never awarded restitution or compensation to any victims,” the report added.