Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is general agreement that there should be a review of this legislation and that a report should be produced. That is a good idea. When we introduce new laws, it is important that we review them on an ongoing basis and come back with recommendations where they might be improved. It is important that we are not too prescriptive with regard to the legislation in terms of setting out what needs to be done when the review takes place. I know very many people in the Chamber have strong and certain views about what they think the outcome of this legislation will be. I think the legislation will be to the benefit of sex workers and Irish society. I am not certain about that nor am I certain about what the definite consequences of this legislation will be. I do not think anyone can be sure about what the consequences will be. For that reason, I think it is important that we leave any report and review open so that things that may happen which we did not expect to happen can be properly considered.

For that reason, I think the amendment put forward by the Minister is probably the best one. It states that the review will commence not later than three years after the commencement of this Part. We need to give legislation some time to settle down in order to get a good overview of its impact. I know that the Defamation Act 2009 has a review section that provides for a review after five years. We need to give the legislation some time. I also note that the amendment put forward by the Minister does take into account some of the concerns referred to by Deputies Clare Daly, Bríd Smith and Jonathan O'Brien. Under the Minister's amendment, section 27(2)(b) would provide that the review would conduct an assessment of the impact of the operation of the section on the safety and well-being of persons who engage in sexual activity for payment. An appraisal of people involved in sexual activity for sale will be at the forefront of the review to see the extent to which this legislation has affected them.

We need a broad overview of that. We cannot just have a situation where we just review a piece of legislation from the point of view of one or two sex workers. We have to look at legislation in general to examine its impact on society and whether it has achieved the benefit for which it was designed and introduced and if not, what are the proposals to change it. With respect to Deputies Clare Daly, Bríd Smith and Jonathan O'Brien, I think it is appropriate to go along with the amendment put forward by the Minister. In reality, the difference between all the proposals that are being put before the House is not huge. I would be concerned that if we had a very detailed section setting out what the reviewing body or section within the Department should do, it would find itself limited to what is set out in the statutory regime. Any review is better when it is given broad parameters because we do not know with certainty what the consequences will be as a result of the introduction of this legislation.

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