Child trafficking is a complex, evolving, and significantly under-recognised issue in Ireland, particularly in the context of increasing digitalisation. This report presents the findings of research examining Ireland’s response to child trafficking and ICT-facilitated child trafficking, with a particular focus on prevention, identification, protection and support for child victims. The research draws on desk-based analysis and stakeholder interviews. Our research found that child trafficking remains significantly under-identified in Ireland, including among Irish children. Stakeholders consistently raised such concerns, including that children experiencing exploitation are too often being overlooked, misidentified or treated primarily through criminal justice or child protection lenses rather than as potential victims of trafficking. The current scale of under-identification, combined with the rapid evolution of onlineenabled exploitation, requires urgent and sustained action across State and frontline services.

While legislative and policy frameworks have developed in recent years, serious challenges remain in ensuring that systems are fully effective in identifying and protecting child victims. These include delays in operationalising the statutory National Referral Mechanism (NRM), inconsistent understanding of the legal definition of child trafficking, and limited capacity to identify newer and emerging forms of exploitation such as criminal exploitation and ICT-facilitated grooming, recruitment and control. The research highlights the growing role of digital technologies in facilitating child trafficking and exploitation. Social media platforms, online communication tools and gaming environments are increasingly being used to target, groom, recruit and exploit children. These developments require a strengthened and coordinated response across prevention, investigation and regulation – the current response has not kept pace with the scale or complexity of these risks.

Our research also found clear and immediate opportunities for progress, particularly the importance of improved coordination across agencies, enhanced training and awareness, and a more child-centred and trauma-informed response. This report sets out practical recommendations for strengthening Ireland’s response to child trafficking, including ICT-facilitated exploitation. It calls for urgent action to improve prevention, identification, protection, and assistance systems. Ultimately, the report provides a practical and evidence-based framework for a more coordinated, child-centred and future-focused response to child trafficking in Ireland. The key findings and priority recommendations, as identified through the research and validation process, are set out below.

Key Findings:
1. Child trafficking remains significantly under-identified.
2. Misunderstandings of the legal definition of child trafficking may contribute to underidentification.
3. Implementation of the new statutory National Referral Mechanism is urgently needed.
4. Children involved in criminal activity may be victims of trafficking or exploitation but are not routinely being identified as such.
5. ICT-facilitated exploitation is a growing concern.
6. Children in State care and unaccompanied minors face heightened protection gaps and exploitation risks.
7. Child victims and at-risk children are not receiving adequate and specialised supports.
8. Training, awareness raising and multi-disciplinary cooperation are critical to improving responses.

Example text:

P.122 Child trafficking for criminal activities In its Third Evaluation Report, the Commission noted how TCA has only recently started being researched in Ireland with a focus on drug-related intimidation, and also in the UK due to ‘county lines’ drug dealing by children,400 where children are exploited by gangs and use mobile phones to sell drugs. In Ireland from 2022 to 2024, four child victims of TCA were identified, two girls and two boys, none were Irish nationals. Migrant children and unaccompanied minors A number of stakeholders spoke about their knowledge of TCA in relation to migrant children and unaccompanied minors with some referencing Vietnamese adults and children being trafficked here to work in illegal cannabis “grow houses”. Irish children – family networks and organised crime TCA makes up 25% of child referrals to the NRM in the UK. A recent study on child victims of criminal exploitation in Northern Ireland notes the risk to children, whose families are involved in paramilitarism and organised crime, of being exploited to commit crimes such as drug dealing, shoplifting and money laundering. Given the extensive OCG links between Ireland and Northern Ireland, and the family networks involved, it seems unlikely that no Irish children have been exploited. A number of stakeholders listed TCA of children as their top concern in relation to child trafficking. I think that forced criminality is probably the biggest area that we’re going to see where children are going to be exploited, as in criminal exploitation. There’s no doubt about it, because it’s so easy. – Stakeholder 06 The Greentown study406 and replication studies Bluetown and Redtown, all revealed how children are lured into criminal behaviour by family gangs and criminal networks. The Greentown study highlighted how children were often carefully selected for their personal vulnerability to exploitation based on their family history of crime including through older siblings and poor family support networks often due to substance abuse while also noting instances of grooming.409 The study also noted how difficult it is for children to withstand pressure to become involved in criminality and the difficulties in escaping from the networks for example due to fear, the social status membership of the network provided, and a lack of family support...