A new report exploring sham marriages as a type of human exploitation will be launched later this morning.

The research is the outcome of an international project involving Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland and Slovakia.

It is the first ever research report on this type of human exploitation in Europe.

Brian Killoran, Chief Executive of the Immigrant Council of Ireland, says the definition of human trafficking needs to be broadened.

Mr Killoran said: “Human trafficking at the moment does not include being forced into marriages as an indicator of being a trafficked person.

“So the rules and the legislation that we have don’t actually match this new emerging area that is coming out.

“One of the recommendations that we have today is that legislatively we need to catch up with these new emerging areas so that the traffickers is not one step ahead.”