Expert Guide on Human Rights and Forced Labour in Ireland

• The Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 (as amended by the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Amendment Act 2013) is the primary legislation criminalising  human trafficking, including for the purposes of labour exploitation,  in Ireland.
• Ireland has also ratified the International Forced Labour Protocol 2014 which reinforces the international legal framework for combating all forms of forced labour, including trafficking. 

Ireland’s primary legislation addressing human trafficking is generally applicable across all sectors, although there are certain higher risk industries where additional, rules apply (e.g. agriculture and construction).

The Employment Permits Act 2024 includes specific provisions for seasonal and sectoral employment permits, which are designed to regulate and monitor the employment of non-EEA nationals in higher risk sectors.

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013 to 2021 impose specific obligations on employers and contractors to ensure safe and fair working conditions.

Yes. Ireland has transposed the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) into national law by the European Union (Corporate Sustainability Reporting) Regulations 2024, requiring in-scope companies to report annually on environmental, social, human rights, and governance matters.

The EU Conflict Minerals Regulation is directly applicable in Ireland and requires in-scope EU importers of tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold to implement a due diligence framework to identify, assess, and manage risks of forced labour and other serious abuses in their supply chains and  report on this annually.

The EU Forced Labour Regulation is directly applicable in Ireland and bans the sale, import and export of goods made using forced labour within the EU from 14 December 2027.

No, but public bodies in Ireland are increasingly required to consider social and ethical criteria in their procurement processes.

In addition, the European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016 and the European Union (Award of Contracts by Utility Undertakings) Regulations 2016 requires public bodies and utility undertakings to  ensure that contractors comply with labour laws as a condition of contract award.

Yes. Please see the answer to the next question.

• Criminal penalties apply for trafficking offences including up to life imprisonment, unlimited fines and confiscation of assets and proceeds of crime.
• Victims of trafficking may seek compensation through separate civil proceedings.
• Employers who violate employment laws can face civil penalties. These may include fines, compensation orders, and other sanctions imposed by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).
• The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) can issue improvement notices, prohibition notices, and prosecute employers for breaches of health and safety laws.
• Failure to comply with CSRD reporting requirements or providing false or misleading statements in reports can result in financial penalties up to €50,000 and up to 5 years imprisonment. 

• Directors and executives can be criminally liable if they consent to, connive in, or neglect to prevent a trafficking offence committed by their company.
• Directors may be held personally liable if they had knowledge or were wilfully blind to trafficking in the company’s supply chains.
• Directors may be held personally liable for breaches of the CSRD requirements and this could also be considered a breach of a director’s fiduciary duties and result in disqualification, civil penalties and/or shareholder actions or derivative claims.

Ireland is required to transpose the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) into national law by 26 July 2026, which requires in-scope companies to conduct due diligence to identify, prevent, and mitigate adverse human rights and environmental impacts in their operations, subsidiaries, and value chains.

The proposed Labour Exploitation and Trafficking (Audit of Supply Chains) Bill 2021, if introduced, would provide for transparent reporting by undertakings in relation to the risk of labour exploitation and human trafficking occurring in their supply chains or in any part of their business and of the steps taken by them to ensure such activities do not take place.