Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

My apologies for having to leave shortly to attend the Chamber. I thank the delegates for the presentation and pay tribute to the work of the Gay Men's Health Service and the Gay Health Network in tackling homophobia and discrimination against people with HIV. It is important to make that point.

I will focus on legislation and the approach to take. I am reminded that some people have said we should not say the Swedish "model", rather the Swedish "approach", because this has already been adapted for use in other countries, and other jurisdictions such as France and Ireland are looking at it very seriously with a view to adapting it. Nobody suggests it is a one-size-fits-all model that should not be tweaked to fit any particular society. Does that approach not have some benefit, however, from the point of view of the arguments Mr. Quinlan made about decriminalising those who sell sex, thereby destigmatising the people engaged in the sale of sex? I am interested in that point and raised it before.