Dr. Derek Freedman:

I want to speak about the public health dimension. I have been in genito urinary practice in Dublin for close on 40 years in St. James's Hospital and my practice in Ranelagh. I have spent most of my time in my practice in Ranelagh.

Essentially, we have a lot of data and information on sex workers but very little on clients, which is obvious because it is difficult to get to study them as a group. I see clients as patients, but who are they? Everybody is represented - it is the man in the street, from Members of the Oireachtas to down and outs. There are no exceptions, which is something we have to bear in mind. The issue impacts on the entire population.

Hooking up, as it is called in the United States, is easy through the Internet, media, mobile phones and parlours. There is very little happening on the street now compared to when I started in practice, partially because of the Irish weather but also owing to the Internet and mobile phones, as people work out of apartments and hotels.

A question one might ask is: why do people go to prostitutes? Sometimes they go out of curiosity but alcohol is probably the biggest factor. People go out, drink too much, struggle on their way home, go down streets where prostitutes may be available or go into so-called night clubs. Sometimes we see big groups; this was particularly the case when the construction boom was at its height, during the builders' holidays after Christmas, and trips to Thailand were common. The committee will be aware of how plasterers work as a team. On one occasion a full team came to me and said to me they had been to Thailand. It also happens at stag parties. However, alcohol remains a common denominator.

Another group may suffer from sociophobia; they cannot make contact and meet people and do not have the necessary social skills. They may be very good in other social contexts, but when it comes to being intimate, they do not have the ability to make the jump to be close to somebody.

Loneliness is another factor. People can be very lonely and have nobody to contact them. Once they start, they can become addicted. I see quite a number of people each year who admit they have become addicted to using prostitutes and sex workers, the Internet and so on. They need a particular intervention to help them.

There is also the occasional person who is a sociopath, somebody who has no concept of the consequences of his or her behaviour. One could ask why this is the case when sex is so readily available in Dublin. One only has to go to Temple Bar, Kilkenny or anywhere else-----