Child trafficking remains significantly under-identified in Ireland, with the number of children formally identified as victims remaining extremely low despite growing evidence of exploitation, the IHREC has warned today.

Launching its new report, Child Trafficking and ICT-Facilitated Child Trafficking in Ireland, in its capacity as Ireland’s Independent National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings, the Commission said the central challenge facing Ireland is not simply the number of children identified as victims, but the number of children who may be being missed.

Just 10 child victims were formally identified in 2024 and 18 in 2025. While the increase is welcome, IHREC said these figures cannot be taken as an indication of the true scale of child trafficking in Ireland.

The research found a strong consensus among stakeholders that child trafficking is significantly under-identified, including among Irish children. Children experiencing exploitation can be overlooked or misidentified and may be treated primarily through child protection or criminal justice systems rather than recognised as potential victims of trafficking.

The Commission said this is particularly concerning as the nature of child exploitation is changing rapidly, with social media, messaging platforms, online gaming and other digital technologies increasingly being used to groom, recruit and control children.

Chief commissioner Liam Herrick said: “The figures tell us how few children have been identified in Ireland. They cannot tell us how many children we have failed to see.

“Children who are trafficked are groomed, exploited or controlled, and their experience may never come to the attention of the services that could protect them.

“Our starting point must therefore be identification. If a child is not recognised as a potential victim of trafficking, they cannot access the protection, assistance and specialist support they need.

“This requires every part of the system to be able to recognise the signs of trafficking – not just An Garda Síochána, but child protection, healthcare, education, immigration services, youth services and civil society. It requires professionals to be trained to look at situations through a trafficking lens, and it requires agencies to work together around the needs of the child.”

Statutory National Referral Mechanism essential to identification and protection

The Commission said the findings of the report reinforce the importance of an effective and functioning National Referral Mechanism (NRM), including clear child-specific pathways for identification, referral, protection and support.

The Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking Act 2024 provided for a statutory NRM designed to establish a formal, multidisciplinary framework for identifying and supporting victims of trafficking. This would mean that state agencies and NGOs, alongside An Garda Síochána would have responsibility for identifying victims of trafficking.

However, the Commission is seriously concerned that over two and a half years since the legislation was passed, that the statutory NRM has not been operationalised.

The Commission understands that the justice minister has indicated that he does not intend to commence the relevant provisions of the 2024 Act and implement the NRM as provided for in that legislation.

IHREC said this development is particularly concerning in the context of the report’s findings on the under-identification of child victims, and the broad cross-party consensus in respect of the 2024 Act and the model of an NRM.

Victims of trafficking, especially children, are unlikely to self-identify as victims, which is why multidisciplinary NRM is so crucial.

Mr Herrick said: “The National Referral Mechanism is intended to provide a clear pathway to identify, refer and protect victims of trafficking. For children, that pathway must be child-centred and multidisciplinary.

“The 2024 Act was the product of years of work and scrutiny, and we are deeply concerned by the indication that it will not now be commenced as provided for.

“This report tells us that children are already being missed. At this point, we should be strengthening the systems that enable identification and protection, not stepping back from them.

Irish children among those at risk of being missed

The report highlights particular concerns about the identification of Irish children.

None of the formally identified child victims of trafficking in either 2024 or 2025 were Irish nationals. The research does not suggest that this reflects an absence of trafficking of Irish children. Rather, it highlights concerns that Irish children may be particularly vulnerable to under-identification.

The report also identifies children in State care and unaccompanied minors as facing heightened protection gaps and exploitation risks.

IHREC said that children who are being criminally exploited can be particularly difficult to identify as victims. A child involved in drug distribution or other criminal activity may initially be viewed as an offender rather than as a child who has been groomed, coerced or exploited.

The Commission said this underlines the importance of a child-centred, trauma-informed and anti-trafficking approach across all services.

Online exploitation is changing the nature of child trafficking

The research also highlights the growing role of information and communication technologies in child trafficking and exploitation.

Stakeholders reported that social media, online communication tools and gaming environments are increasingly being used to target, recruit and control children.

IHREC said policy and practice must keep pace with these developments, including through stronger digital investigation capacity, cross-sector cooperation, training and measures to prevent online exploitation.

Key recommendations

The report sets out recommendations across seven interconnected areas:

Identification: operationalise an effective statutory NRM, including child-specific pathways with clear timelines and accountability; strengthen the role of child protection agencies in identification; and establish a national focal point for child victims.

Supports and services: ensure immediate access to specialised protection and supports, including specialised accommodation, and strengthen multidisciplinary child protection models.

Investigations and prosecutions: strengthen specialist capacity to respond to child trafficking, ICT-facilitated trafficking and criminal exploitation, while ensuring appropriate protections for children involved in criminal proceedings.

Prevention: strengthen cross-sector training, education and digital literacy and support community-based prevention and awareness.

Partnerships: strengthen national, international and cross-border cooperation and meaningful engagement with civil society.

Data and evidence: improve national data collection on presumed and formally identified child victims and strengthen research and monitoring.

Legislative reform: ensure greater consistency in the application of the legal framework and full and timely implementation of relevant EU obligations including the amended Directive 2024/1712. The deadline for Ireland to transpose the Directive, which strengthens Ireland’s obligations on children and on NRMs, was 15 July 2026.

The Commission said Ireland has strong foundations on which to build, including committed professionals, existing examples of good practice and a high degree of consensus among stakeholders about what needs to change.

However, it said urgent action is required to ensure that the systems designed to protect children work effectively in practice and are in line with EU legal obligations and international standards.