Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I agree with Deputy Rabbitte that many people would argue against the point the Minister made in regard to the Swedish model. I accept that these amendments are restrictive and do not deal with the broader issue, which is something we should fully debate in this House on another occasion. I am not an expert in this area but it seems to me an incredible notion that a user would go into a brothel or bedroom, sit down on a corner of the bed, have an open and frank conversation with the victim of trafficking and then bring the latter to the local Garda station. That will not happen.

It is a question of putting down a clear marker that a person who avails of the services provided by a trafficked person is committing a criminal offence. I agree it will be difficult to secure convictions. However, it will also be difficult to convict a person of trafficking, especially in the absence of any statutory provision for protection, as I argued earlier. One could argue that the legislation in its entirety will be difficult to enforce, but that is not a valid argument. Just because something is difficult to enforce does not mean we should not outlaw it. There are many laws that are difficult to enforce. For example, it is impossible to enforce speeding laws in respect of motorists from outside this jurisdiction, but it is still against the law for a driver from Northern Ireland or the United Kingdom to exceed the speed limit in this State. Should we go through the Statute Book and delete all legislation that is not easily enforceable in all circumstances?

I ask the Minister to reconsider this proposal. It sets down a strong marker and is representative of the opinion of this House in regard to those persons who avail of the sexual services of a person who has been trafficked. It is important that we set down this marker.

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