Ms Natalie Gamble:

Yes. Whenever there is an attempt to stop it happening in a particular way, it pops out somewhere else.

There is demand and we live in a world with global reach. Ireland cannot directly regulate what happens in other countries so the choice is how to deal with the consequences of people going overseas and ensure children's welfare is safeguarded or what do we do at home and regulate it here. The choices around regulating this at home will have an impact on the options people have. If it is made as liberal, supportive and well-regulated at home as possible, it will maximise the chances of people doing it within that framework rather than having to look overseas. We are not able to stop people going overseas, however, and if this is made too restrictive at home, more people will be sent overseas.