Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I compliment Deputy Pringle on introducing this Bill on an extremely serious issue affecting society with which Members must deal and which they must face. Fianna Fáil absolutely supports this legislation. The Bill builds on the work of the Turn Off the Red Light campaign, which aims to tackle the scourge of prostitution across Ireland. The shift of criminal responsibility onto the buyer reflects the need to tackle the demand-led nature of the industry and the exploitation of the women, and often the children, involved. Switching to the Swedish model approach to combating prostitution will yield greater results in eliminating prostitution in Ireland.

Fianna Fáil supports actively the Turn Off the Red Light campaign to end prostitution and sex trafficking in Ireland. This Bill reflects the work undertaken by this umbrella organisation and the need to take a different approach to tackling prostitution. Human trafficking for the sexual exploitation of women and children is one of the most heinous crimes in society today and prostitution laws must be reviewed and updated to end such exploitation. Fianna Fáil agrees that prostitution is inherently harmful and that those who are being prostituted, or the vast majority of them, are victims in some way or another, whether through abuse, poverty or sheer exploitation. It also is clear that criminal gangs are making hundreds of millions in profits each year through the exploitation of vulnerable immigrant women, many of whom have been trafficked or coerced into prostitution in Ireland. It is necessary to review the prostitution legislation now in order that it recognises that those who are being prostituted are victims and to ensure the laws are sufficiently robust to tackle the sexual exploitation of women and children. Fianna Fáil commends the work of those organisations involved in the Turn Off the Red Light campaign, such as Ruhama, the Immigrant Council of Ireland and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, which have managed to raise awareness and put this important issue onto the political agenda. It is clear, from the support for the Turn Off the Red Light campaign, that every part of Irish society wants to see this change.

As for the current legislation, I note the sale or purchase of sexual services in Ireland is not criminalised at present, provided it is conducted out of public eye. However, activities associated with prostitution such as pimping, soliciting in public or brothel keeping are crimes. It also is an offence to organise prostitution, coerce or compel a person to be a prostitute or knowingly live on the earnings of a prostitute. The rationale behind these offences is the protection of prostitutes, as well as an attempt to protect society from the nuisance and public order problems associated with prostitution. However, the buying and selling of sex indoors remains protected by omission under the presumption that this is a private contract between consenting adults. When in government, Fianna Fáil introduced the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008, which criminalised the trafficking of persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation. This makes it a specific offence to solicit or importune a trafficked person for the purposes of prostitution in any place and not merely a public place.

The nature of prostitution in Ireland has changed dramatically over the past decade. Street prostitutes, the most visible face of prostitution, largely have been replaced by off-street prostitutes, who can be contacted over the Internet or by telephone. In addition, the massive explosion in the number of foreign prostitutes operating in Ireland over the position that obtained a decade ago raises questions on the extent of the trafficking of women into and within Ireland for sexual exploitation. According to recent Garda testimony before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, approximately 800 women per year are involved. Moreover, a year-long RTE "Prime Time" investigation estimated a number of almost 700 on any given day, while regular checks on websites, chatrooms and forums by the Turn Off the Red Light campaign shows that sometimes this figure is close to 1,000. The issue at stake in this Bill is the exploitation of these women and the need to develop a fresh approach to the problem. Sex trafficking exists in Ireland as it does in every European country. This is recognised by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE, the European Commission, the annual Trafficking in Persons Report produced by the US State Department and figures from the Department of Justice and Equality. According to the aforementioned Department, 134 people were trafficked here for sexual exploitation between 2008 and 2011, of whom 32 were children.

The Immigrant Council of Ireland believes these figures do not give the full picture and notes that the OSCE and US State Department have identified Ireland as falling short in identifying victims of trafficking.

An attempt is made to portray sex-trafficking as modern day slavery but it is far more sophisticated. People are not brought here in containers or chains. They arrive at Dublin, Cork or Shannon Airports, often under false pretences of work, a relationship or marriage, and it is only when they go outside the terminal and their passports, documents and money are taken from them and they are placed in a brothel that reality dawns.

This Bill draws upon the Swedish approach to tackling prostitution. In 1999, Sweden was the first country to pass a law prohibiting the purchase of sex. Those who sell sex were decriminalised in view of their subordinate status and limited life choices. The rationale for the offence was rooted in the belief that prostitution is a serious barrier to gender equality and causes serious harm to the people involved in prostitution, as well as to their wider society. A high level inquiry headed by a Swedish supreme court judge found in 2010 that since the introduction of the ban street prostitution has halved. In 1995, the estimated number of women in prostitution was 2,500 to 3,000, with 650 of those on the streets. By 2008, there were 350 advertised prostitutes on the internet and 300 on the street. The law in Sweden assumes that prostitution is incompatible with contemporary values and that it is a serious social problem which can and should be addressed. The

purpose of the Bill is to adopt the Swedish model.

The question was raised of regularising prostitution. Fianna Fáil does not believe prostitution should be regularised and we would reject any proposal to that effect. Amsterdam has tried regularising prostitution over the last decade but instead of offering protection to women, the city has become a hub for human trafficking. Amsterdam police report that half of all legal brothel managers have criminal records and that their activities are fronts for criminal behaviour. The Dutch are now trying to row back on their failed laws, the most alarming result of which is the failure of regularisation to prevent the abuse of underage girls. This has forced a rethink of the legal age for prostitution, which has been raised to 21 years.

The issue of underage girls being involved in prostitution arose during the briefing organised by the Turn Off the Red Light campaign and Denise Charlton of the Immigrant Council of Ireland in Buswells Hotel. I commend Ms Charlton on the outstanding work she has done in campaigning on this issue. She arranged for Oireachtas Members to be briefed by former sex workers, who shared their experiences of the sex trade. It was harrowing to listen to them. We were told that they often misrepresented their age to clients because the younger they pretended to be, the busier they became. The demand led nature of prostitution in Ireland creates a sinister market of men who desire underage prostitutes. The penalties and punishment for offences must take heed of the fact that some people desire to purchase sex with minors. I was also struck by the level of violence that was visited on the former sex workers. They recounted violent encounters driven by alcohol and drug intoxication. Many of them suffered horrific injuries. This demonstrates the sinister nature of the people who pimped them and the environment in which they operated.

A number of months ago in my own city of Limerick, the Garda Síochána undertook a high profile operation to target prostitution. I compliment Limerick gardaí for the way the went about their work despite the unwarranted negative commentary they received for their efforts. The presence of prostitutes on certain streets impacted on the business community and people's livelihoods. The Garda acted in response to the concerns raised by those so affected and for several weeks the problem appeared to have been addressed. However, I recently passed along one of the streets in question and observed that prostitutes had returned to the area. As we are aware, the Garda is stretched to deal with various areas of crime but this is a problem that will not go away until we make the fundamental reform of criminalising those who purchase sex.

The Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, of which I am a member, is considering a draft report on this topic. In July 2012 the committee invited submissions on a discussion document produced by the Department of Justice and Equality. In September 2012 the Department held a conference on the issue which was attended by members of the committee. We have considered hundreds of submissions and have engaged a consultant to assist us in assessing them. We have also held a series of meetings to hear from people with opposing views on the issues arising. My party supports the Bill because the serious problem it identifies must be addressed.

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