Ms Caroline Counihan:

I thank the committee for this opportunity to speak about this important Bill, which Rape Crisis Network Ireland welcomes very much. I am the legal director of Rape Crisis Network Ireland. So-called sex for rent is a serious form of sexual exploitation and abuse of some of the most vulnerable people. The opportunities for this form of abuse are multiplying as the shortage of affordable housing for rent becomes ever more acute. This issue also needs to be addressed if the problem is to resolved effectively.

Rape Crisis Network Ireland is glad to see from the Second Stage debate that there is a consensus that this Bill needs to be enacted to deter future abusive sex-for-rent offers and also mark the gravity of this behaviour by criminalising it. This legislation, if enacted, will also send a strong message that it is unacceptable to exploit a person's acute need for a roof over their head by making offers to supply accommodation and-or a reduced rent in return for sexual services. If such an offer is not accepted, as the law stands now the offerer cannot be criminalised unless the other person is a prostitute. This gap needs to be closed.

Rape Crisis Network Ireland urges all Members of the Oireachtas to work together to ensure first that it is legally robust and workable and second that it is passed and commenced as soon as possible. It is needed urgently.

I have a few remarks on drafting, which I am going to truncate. The full picture is set out in our detailed submission. With regard to section 2, on the offence of requiring or accepting sex as a condition of accommodation, the words "require" and "accept" may not cover the situation where there is no explicit demand for sexual services but instead a suggestion that providing sexual services might unlock access to the accommodation or provide that accommodation at a reduced rent, or even no rent, or prevent eviction. It should also criminalise advertising, offering, seeking to provide or providing any accommodation-related benefit in return for sexual services. The term "sex" is too vague. It must be possible to identify which sexual acts are criminalised. The wording "as a condition of access to or retention of" does not necessarily cover where there is an offer to forgive all or part of the rent, including rent arrears, in return for sexual services.

The wording "as a condition of access to or retention of" does not necessarily cover the situation where there is an offer to forgive all or part of the rent, including rent arrears, in return for sexual services. Either the wording should list all of the situations in which the landlord might seek the sexual services of a tenant in return for a housing benefit or it should use a blanket term such as "housing advantage", "housing benefit" or "accommodation-related benefit" to the tenant. A wording broader than one involving a condition of acquiring some form of housing advantage is desirable. For example, "in return for" is easier to prove and is clearer. The term "accommodation or related services or transactions" should be defined so that it is clear what is and is not accommodation or related services or transactions.

In subsection (2), "provider of accommodation" is not defined. With respect, we suggest that it ought to be. It is not clear as to whether this offence can be committed by a company or other any other legal entity that is not a person. It must also be clear as to whether it includes landlords who enter tenancy agreements, licensors renting rooms, people offering accommodation free of charge in return for certain non-sexual services, for example, caretaking, and so on.

With regard to-----