‘Undetected’ kids as young as 6 trafficked into Ireland for sex & drugs exploitation as report uncovers harrowing cases
SCORES of children — some as young as six — are being trafficked into the country for sex and drugs exploitation, a top charity chief today warns.
But the youngsters are going undetected as the Government doesn’t care enough to tackle the issue, JP O’Sullivan tells The Irish Sun on Sunday.
A damning Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission report this week revealed child trafficking is significantly under-identified in Ireland — with just 28 cases detected over the past two years.
Now Mr O’Sullivan, operations manager for Ireland’s anti-child trafficking charity, MecPaths, is calling on Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan to start taking the issue seriously and save these children from a life of misery.
It comes after The Irish Sun’s State of Neglect campaign has lifted the lid on how many kids trafficked into Ireland have ended up housed in Tusla’s unregulated special emergency arrangements, with some preyed on by sexual predators and crime gangs.
Mr O’Sullivan said girls as young as 14 are being trafficked into Ireland for the sex industry, with kids as young as six being brought here to work in cannabis growhouses.
He told us: “The average age for young girls who’ve been trafficked here for the sex industry is just 14.
“I’m reluctant to use the word brothel in relation to these girls, as no child can consent to being in a brothel, but that is where they are being placed.
“Obviously the men who use these should be aware they are clearly breaking the law if they have sexual activity with an underage child.
“In relation to cannabis growhouses, children in many cases are trafficked here from Vietnam to work in them.
“The problem we face in Ireland is that a lot of this is going completely undetected. We’ve never had a single conviction for child trafficking in this country.”
The IHREC report revealed how just 38 cases of child trafficking have been detected in Ireland between 2022 and 2025.
This compared to tens of thousands of UK cases over the same period.
Mr O’Sullivan said: “That shows how this issue is being neglected in Ireland and the Justice Minister really needs to accept that this is something his Department needs to tackle.”
Mr O’Sullivan said many of the kids trafficked into Ireland are brought here through ports and across the border with the North.
He added: “Child trafficking is a multi-billion euro global operation that is very sophisticated and operates both inside and outside this State.
“The children that are brought to Ireland often come through ports, but it’s important to note the difference between child smuggling and trafficking.
“In the cases where children and adults are found smuggled in the back of trucks, families have often paid to be brought here that way, whereas unaccompanied children who are trafficked here are done so for specific purposes such as the sex or drug industries.”
Earlier this week, IHREC chief commissioner Liam Herrick, revealed how not a single Irish child has ever been detected as a victim of trafficking.
He said: “There are categories of children living in Ireland today that are clearly at risk of being victims of trafficking, but they’re invisible to the system.”
Mr O’Sullivan agreed, telling us: “We have seen cases of very young children, even as young as six or eight, who have been trafficked by crime gangs to work in the drugs industry and deliver drugs for these gangs.
In some cases these children are being trafficked into crime by members of their own families.
“We hear a lot about the recruitment of children into forced criminality. But they’re not being identified as victims of trafficking.
“The domestic aspect of human trafficking is being missed.”
In a statement, the Department of Justice said the Third National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking 2023 — 2027 includes a number of measures specifically aimed at strengthening the State’s response to child trafficking.
