Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

That is correct. The Deputy will note from my script that I rephrased the opening sentence. I assure him that the Garda and the Minister share his concern in respect of the problems caused to residents of the area by prostitutes and their clients.

The legislation governing this activity is quite modern, with the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 being the most recent statute. As Deputies will be aware, prostitution is not in itself a crime but the law does seek to protect prostitutes from exploitation and to protect the public from certain manifestations of prostitution. It is an offence for a person, in a street or public place, to solicit or importune another person for the purposes of prostitution. The offence applies equally to a prostitute soliciting a client, a client soliciting a prostitute or a third party soliciting one on behalf of the other. The same offence and penalties apply to prostitutes, clients or anyone who solicits in a public place. It is also an offence to solicit or importune another person in order to commit certain sexual offences, such as sexual offences with under age persons, to keep or to manage a brothel.

A significant provision in terms of the Deputy's concerns is that a member of the Garda Síochána who has reasonable cause to suspect that a person is loitering in a street or public place in order to solicit for the purpose of prostitution may direct that person to leave the scene immediately. It is then an offence not to comply with such a direction without reasonable cause. Loitering includes loitering in a motor vehicle and this provision, therefore, applies to kerb-crawlers.

In addition to its other provisions, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 also extended the law on soliciting in public which previously applied only to prostitutes and any third parties, for example, pimps. It strengthened the law on the protection of prostitutes from exploitation by introducing new offences aimed at curbing organised prostitution and strengthening the law against living off the earnings of a prostitution of another person. It is now an offence for a person to compel or coerce another person to be a prostitute or to control or direct a prostitute or to organise prostitution. It is also an offence to live knowingly off the earnings of a prostitute and to aid and abet prostitution.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the area in question is regularly patrolled by uniform and plain-clothes gardaí from the Bridewell district with a view to ensuring a concentrated and visible Garda presence in the area. I understand that in addition to the normal patrols operating in the area, two gardaí have recently been assigned to specifically deal with street prostitution in the Bridewell district. Community gardaí assigned to the area liaise with residents and community representatives on an ongoing basis. I am further informed by the Garda authorities, who are responsible for the detailed allocation of personnel and resources to individual areas, that the current Garda strength of 163 in the area is adequate to meet existing policing needs. However, the situation will be kept under review in the overall context of the needs of Garda districts throughout the country.

The Deputy will be interested to know that in 2002, the Garda brought 117 cases for soliciting or importuning for prostitution in the Dublin north-central area and 29 persons were convicted by the court. The corresponding figure for 2003 was 115 proceedings commenced and 36 persons convicted. In 2002, proceedings were commenced for loitering for prostitution against 32 people and nine persons were convicted. The corresponding figure for 2003 was 36 proceedings commenced and two persons convicted.

The Deputy will be aware of the good work undertaken by the Ruhama women's project, which receives funding from the Department for its work with and on behalf of women involved in prostitution. The project organises both individual and group counselling for women, assists in the area of prevention and rehabilitation directly and, in liaison with other agencies, raises awareness about the problem and engages in research and integration between European countries.

I am assured by local Garda management that it will ensure that a concentrated visible Garda presence continues to be maintained to deter this activity.

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