ORGANISED CRIME gangs are setting up foreign language schools to act as a front for prostitution, Fine Gael’s spokesman on immigration and integration Denis Naughten has claimed.
Mr Naughton said bogus schools, established by organised crime groups, were assisting students in obtaining visas by providing the necessary documents.
Members of the Oireachtas were informed during a cross-party briefing on Wednesday “that language schools in Dublin are breeding grounds for prostitution. We need urgent action to deal with the proliferation of sex trafficking into Ireland’s €80 million illegal sex industry,” he said.
The Immigrants Council of Ireland briefed the Oireachtas on its recently published report, Globalisation, Sex Trafficking and Prostitution – The Experiences of Migrant Women in Ireland. Mr Naughten said the issue of some schools being fronts for prostitution came up during the briefing.
However, organisations representing language schools angrily denied the claims. Jim Ferguson of the Advisory Council for English Language Schools in Ireland said there was no evidence to back up the claims. “I’ve never heard anything like it. We have a rigorous inspection scheme, our inspectors visit schools on a regular basis. The Department of Justice has access to all our inspections.”
David O’Grady of the MEI, an association representing 68 English language schools around the country, called on Mr Naughten to name the schools in question. “It’s utterly ridiculous. I don’t know of any school doing this. Mr Naughten doesn’t name any particular school. If he has information he should release it.”
Mr Naughten said he did not know which schools were involved. Government failure to regulate the industry would allow the situation to continue. “The Tánaiste confirmed to me today that the Government will not be putting forward legislation to regulate this area. Organised criminals can therefore continue to operate as they have been doing and force vulnerable students into prostitution.”