Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The spokespeople for the Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, Labour and Fine Gael parties all agreed that the passage of this legislation is highly desirable. Therefore, a proposal was offered that would have seen the legislation dealt with today. All Stages would have been passed, provided there was agreement. Deputy Catherine Murphy, on behalf of the Independents and the Technical Group, advised the House that although she is personally strongly in favour of this legislation, she is aware that some Deputies in the Technical Group, including some Independents, are not in favour of it. I regret to say that we were not able to get the agreement of the entire House on this important legislation, which deals with people who buy sexual services and offers some level of protection to very vulnerable women who are involved in prostitution. Clearly, that is reflected in Deputy Coppinger's comments now.

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