Ms Sarah Benson:

The issue of prostitution being driven underground has been addressed by Ms Charlton. It cannot be driven underground. This has been consistently argued by police in jurisdictions where the sex buyer has been criminalised in a process where the overall trade is criminalised with the exception of those working. If a buyer is seeking a service or product, he or she must be able to find it. If the buyer can find it, authorities can find it. We see advertisements all over the place and on the Internet. When looking for this activity, it is not hard to find.

With regard to whether we are putting the cart before the horse, our argument is that we must start this process in order to make it possible for the limited resources of the NGOs and the Garda to respond. Given the significant extent of the involvement of organised crime in the indoor sex trade, if Ireland becomes a less attractive location the market will shrink. If something is not against the law, a cohort will do it; if the activity is outlawed, a portion of that cohort will stop doing it. That will lessen the incentives for routes that go as far as South America and Africa to bring women here. If the attraction is eliminated, the market will dwindle.

We are very stretched with our resources, as is the Garda. In order to achieve a manageable response, there must be some deterrent to shrink the trade. Some women will remain involved but the number will be smaller. We could probably channel our resources in such cases to help them.