Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I assure the House that this country's legislation in respect of brothel-keeping and the sex industry in general is strict and strong. I will not mention all the legislative provisions that are in place. The Garda has been very active in this area. A number of operations, including Operation Hotel, Operation Quest, Operation Snow and Operation Boulder, have been ongoing over recent years. They have focused in particular on non-Irish nationals who have been brought to this State for the purpose of employment in the sex industry. The Garda has been working quite successfully with its European counterparts in this respect. The Deputy is right to highlight the use by criminal gangs of the sex industry to increase their ill-gotten gains. The Garda is extremely conscious of the need to cross-reference when it is dealing with this issue.

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