Human Trafficking Awareness for Care and Health Staff in Ireland

This guide covers Ireland. For the UK equivalent, see our guide: Modern Slavery Awareness: What Care and Healthcare Staff Need to Know.

Human trafficking is a serious crime, and the HSE says potential victims can come into contact with healthcare services. For staff in Ireland, the practical questions are what the law counts as trafficking, what the warning signs look like, and who to contact. This guide sets out what the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 says, as amended, and what Irish State and HSE pages say about reporting and support. It sits alongside our guide to safeguarding vulnerable adults training in Ireland, because trafficking is also a safeguarding issue.

This is awareness information for staff, managers and HR teams in Dublin and nationally. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace your own service's safeguarding and reporting procedures.

What the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 says

The 2008 Act is published on the Irish Statute Book. It defines "trafficks" broadly. The definition covers procuring, recruiting, transporting or harbouring a person, handing a person over to another, moving a person into, out of or within the State, taking custody or control of a person, and providing accommodation or employment. The Act creates separate offences depending on who is trafficked and for what purpose.

• Children (under 18). Section 2 makes it an offence to traffic a child for exploitation, and also to sell or purchase a child. Section 3 deals with trafficking and exploiting a child for sexual purposes.
• Adults. Section 4(1) makes it an offence to traffic an adult for exploitation where the trafficker uses means such as coercion, threats, abduction or force, deception or fraud, or abuse of authority or of a person's vulnerability so that the person has no real and acceptable alternative but to submit. The means also include coercing, threatening or using force against, or paying or giving a benefit to, someone who has care or control of the person.
• Consent is not a defence. Section 4(2) states that a defendant cannot argue that the trafficked person agreed to the acts.
• Mentally impaired persons. Section 4(3) makes it an offence to traffic a mentally impaired person for exploitation without the list of means in section 4(1). The term takes its meaning from the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993, and that definition is not set out in the 2008 Act.
• Penalty. For the main trafficking offences in sections 2, 3 and 4, the Act provides, on conviction on indictment, for life imprisonment or a lesser term, together with a fine at the court's discretion.
• Linked offences. Section 5 covers soliciting for the prostitution of a trafficked person, and benefiting from it. It provides a defence where the person did not know, and had no reasonable grounds to believe, that the person was trafficked.

The Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) (Amendment) Act 2013 widened the definition of exploitation, as explained below. Citizens Information (page last edited 16 December 2024) also lists the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 and the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Act 2024 among the relevant laws. It says the National Referral Mechanism provisions of the 2024 Act had not yet been commenced when that page was edited, so check the current position before relying on them.

Forms of exploitation as defined

Section 1 of the 2008 Act, as replaced by section 1 of the 2013 Act, defines "exploitation" as labour exploitation, sexual exploitation, removal of organs, or forcing a person into certain activities. In plain terms:

• Labour exploitation includes subjecting a person to forced labour, which the 2013 Act says includes forcing a person to beg. It also covers forcing a person to provide services to another, and enslavement or servitude.
• Sexual exploitation includes the production of pornography, prostitution, and other sexual or indecent acts.
• Removal of organs is listed as a form of exploitation.
• Forced criminal activity. The 2013 Act includes forcing a person to engage in activity that is an offence and is carried out for financial gain.

The Citizens Information page makes a useful distinction. It describes trafficking as moving people in order to exploit them, and notes that for children no force or deception is needed: moving a child into exploitative conditions is itself trafficking. It also separates trafficking from people smuggling, which involves paying someone to help a person enter a country illegally.

Where staff may encounter it

The Government of Ireland's human trafficking page (last modified 24 June 2025) lists types of work that people can be trafficked into: restaurants and hotels, domestic work, construction, agriculture, entertainment, prostitution and other commercial sexual exploitation, criminal activity, and forced begging. The list does not name care work specifically. Our suggestion: do not assume a pattern.

According to the HSE's training programme, potential trafficking victims can come into contact with healthcare services in different ways. The HSE runs an Anti-Human Trafficking Team, and its Human Trafficking Indicators training aims to show those different ways.

Indicators to be aware of

The Government of Ireland page says a trafficked person "will generally meet more than one of the signs". The HSE's human trafficking service page lists signs of human trafficking:

• Being moved between different places.
• Being forced to work for little or no pay.
• Being made to beg or commit crimes.
• Being used for sex or prostitution.
• Being controlled through threats or lies.
• Being told they owe money for travel or accommodation.
• Being tricked into having organs taken.
• Being offered a job, then being made to do other things they do not want to do.

The Third National Action Plan (2023 to 2027) also mentions features such as documents being taken, restricted movement and coercion when it contrasts trafficking with smuggling. None of these signs proves that someone is trafficked, and a single sign may have another explanation. Our suggestion: notice a pattern and pass the concern to the right place rather than questioning the person yourself.

Where to report or refer

The sources point to several routes. Which one fits depends on urgency and on whether the person is an adult or a child.

• Immediate danger: contact the Gardaí on 112 or 999.
• Reporting a suspicion to the Garda: the HSE page gives the Garda Freephone 1800 666 111 for anonymous reports, and the email address blueblindfold@garda.ie. Citizens Information gives the same confidential line and email. The Government of Ireland page instead lists Crimestoppers on 1800 25 00 25 and the same email address, so check which line your service uses. Citizens Information also notes that the Garda operates a Human Trafficking Investigation and Co-ordination Unit that investigates allegations and supports victims.
• The HSE Anti-Human Trafficking Team: the HSE describes this as a free and confidential service for people being trafficked now, or trafficked in the past, in Ireland or another country. Its contact details on the HSE service page are 01 795 8280 and antihuman.trafficking@hse.ie, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. The HSE says the team will not share a person's information with the Gardaí without their permission, and will ask before referring them elsewhere. A separate HSE page says potential victims are referred to the team from the Garda National Immigration Bureau; it does not describe a referral route for other professionals, so confirm with the team how it wants to be contacted.
• The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit: this unit in the Department of Justice coordinates the State's response. Its address and email (ahtu_inbox@justice.ie) are on the Government of Ireland page.
• Children: Tusla is the route for child welfare concerns. Tusla's guidance says a concern can be reported in person, by telephone or in writing to the local social work duty service where the child lives, and that you can contact Tusla to discuss a concern informally first. The page does not mention a Garda route. The Government of Ireland page says to call the local Gardaí on 112 or 999 if someone is in immediate danger.

The National Referral Mechanism and support for victims

The National Referral Mechanism, or NRM, is the process for identifying and supporting victims. The Third National Action Plan says the Government approved a revised NRM on 11 May 2021. The plan says the revised NRM adds the Department of Justice immigration services, the Department of Social Protection, the HSE, Tusla, the International Protection Accommodation Service and the Workplace Relations Commission to the Garda as competent authorities, and that designated non-governmental organisations will become authorised referral partners. Citizens Information (page last edited 16 December 2024) says the NRM provisions of the 2024 Act had not been commenced, so check how it operates now.

The Government of Ireland page says a potential victim may stay in Ireland for 60 days of recovery and reflection, and that a person who assists the Garda or other authorities in an investigation or prosecution can receive a six-month temporary residence permission, which is renewable. Citizens Information lists support available through the HSE, Tusla (for children), the International Protection Accommodation Service, the Legal Aid Board and a range of community and voluntary groups.

Training and organisational readiness

The HSE offers a Human Trafficking Training Programme through HSeLanD for HSE staff and staff of funded services, in two modules: Awareness, and Indicators. The HSE page says each module carries 0.5 CPD hours in line with NMBI guidance. Staff in other organisations should ask their own employer or professional body what applies to them.

Our suggestion: include trafficking and exploitation in your safeguarding induction and refresher sessions, and make sure every member of staff knows the name of the person they should tell. Keep notes factual (what was seen or said, when, and to whom it was reported), and keep a record of who attended training. These points are practical suggestions, not legal requirements, and they match the broader themes in our guide to HIQA inspections and staff training. If you are worried about exploitation inside your own organisation and unsure how to raise it, our guide to the Protected Disclosures Act for healthcare employers explains the wider framework.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

Does a person have to be moved across a border to be trafficked?

The 2008 Act's definition of trafficking includes causing a person to move into, out of or within the State, and also includes harbouring a person and providing accommodation or employment. Movement within Ireland is therefore covered by the wording.

What if the person says they agreed to the work?

For adults, section 4(2) of the 2008 Act says consent is not a defence to a trafficking charge. A person's agreement does not mean they were free from coercion, deception or abuse of vulnerability. Staff should pass the concern on rather than decide for themselves.

Who do I contact if I am worried about a child?

Tusla's guidance is to report to the local social work duty service, and you can discuss a concern informally first. The Government of Ireland page advises calling the local Gardaí on 112 or 999 if someone is in immediate danger.

Can I report a concern anonymously?

The HSE page gives the Garda Freephone 1800 666 111 and the email blueblindfold@garda.ie for anonymous reports of suspected trafficking. Tusla's reporting guidance also says reports about children can be made anonymously, though that may make a concern harder to assess.

Trafficking awareness is part of everyday safeguarding practice. Know the signs, know the contacts, and pass concerns on promptly through the route your service sets out.