Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I said, a report has to be done after a year anyway, and that report will go to the justice committee. I am very happy to put on the record of the House that I will come back at the end of a two-year period with the most up to date information, including all the information we have on the impact in so far as we have it at that point. The formal review, however, would be after three years during which we would get the submissions. Data is available all the time and we will be gathering that together. As I said, it is available from the CSO and the Garda Síochána. If the justice committee wants to examine this on an ongoing basis, there is no problem with that. I have to do a formal review after a year anyway so information will be coming together. To be realistic in terms of impact and examining all the issues, a three-year period is appropriate but it will build on the one-year report and the ongoing statistical information that is available on trafficking and everything else. I believe that is a reasonable approach to it.

In terms of the exit strategies and supporting women who are vulnerable who might make a different choice if they had better supports, I would want to see every possible initiative being taken in that regard. However, it is not just about funding an organisation. It is about funding the organisation, as we have done in recent times, to put training programmes together that include the point Deputy Coppinger made about language, for example, and skills development, and that an alternative is available. Increasingly, we are putting supports in place to have that kind of practical initiative so that the exit routes can be clear. Women find themselves in a very difficult situation when trying to seek an alternative if they have got enmeshed in prostitution or sex work. There is much talk about free choice. All the studies indicate that these women often have very little choice for a range of reasons in the variety of circumstances in which they have found themselves over the course of their lives.

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