A US state department report on human trafficking has been criticised by a number of Irish non-governmental organisations, which claim it has sought to minimise the challenges Ireland faces.
Amnesty International, the Migrant Rights Centre, Ruhama and the National Women's Council were among the groups which said there is "definitive evidence" to show that well over 100 people have been trafficked into Ireland for sexual exploitation and forced labour.
The "Trafficking in Persons" report, launched by US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice last week, noted that the presence of foreign women in prostitution and a growing migrant labour population in Ireland raises concerns about a "potential trafficking problem". It said that Zambian girls were trafficked to this country for commercial sexual exploitation in the past year, while men and women from Latvia are trafficked to Ireland and the UK for forced labour.
It also states: "Unaccompanied minors from various source countries, particularly in Africa, represent a vulnerable group in Ireland that is susceptible to trafficking and exploitation."
But it says the Government "continued to demonstrate strong efforts to protect and assist victims of trafficking in 2006".
However, in a press statement yesterday the NGO group claimed that the report draws "inaccurate conclusions".
"This report has not highlighted the current legislative vacuum in Ireland in relation to trafficking," it added. "It does not reflect the reality of trafficking of persons into Ireland - as experienced by those organisations who work in this and related fields."