Ilamar Rodrigues Ribeiro (54) was arrested by gardaí when he returned to Ireland from Brazil

The court heard that Lucky Enogheghase, with an address at Frenchville Lane, Co Galway, was involved in facilitating the journey of three women from Nigeria to Ireland

Here, we have a look at the topics likely to dominate political discourse in the week to come

Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh has called on Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan to prioritise implementation of the new legislation

During the week of action, Gardaí arrested one individual in relation to an alleged people smuggling incident earlier this year and another individual in relation to alleged people smuggling incidents in 2022 and 2023.

Police raided a property in south Belfast on Friday night.

The increase was seen in the number of referrals received by Flourish NI in the first 10 months of 2024.

Some 53 victims of human trafficking, including five children, were officially identified in Ireland in 2023, while a “stark increase” in female victims was also recorded.

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Green Party councillor Dan Boyle, said human trafficking was an uncomfortable subject, but one that needed to be addressed.

A Derry man who conspired to traffic migrants into Britain is to be extradited there for breaching the of his release from prison, after he was accused of a number of other charges including trying to murder his ex-partner

Stephen Andrew McLaughlin (44) was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment in 2016 for conspiracy to facilitate illegal entry into the UK in August 2014

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said drug use on both sides of the border has become prevalent and has led to a 25% rise in the price of cocaine.

Kevin Hyland criticised the Government's proposed legislation, arguing it lacks a range of protections.

Gheorghe Nica, 46, was jailed for 27 years for manslaughter.

The report states the Government did not meet the minimum standards in several areas, including a failure to convict any traffickers

A number of premises were inspected as part of a multi-agency approach in Monaghan, Louth and Dublin

The proposal is designed to "strengthen the ability to combat crimes related to human trafficking and to harmonise human trafficking rules across EU member states", a Government spokesperson said.

The search comes after experts at the Council of Europe expressed concern about the number of human trafficking convictions in Ireland in September.

The man was taken into custody by gardai on Monday following a search in Co Galway.

The 34-year-old male is wanted in Lithuania for serious offences of criminal organisation human trafficking and drug distribution

Alicia Edosa (45) and her co-accused Edith Enoghaghase (32) became some of the first individuals in the State jailed for human trafficking