Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I am sure the Minister is aware that being charged with keeping a brothel may mean that there are two women or people in the same space. The personal evidence of many sex workers is that they stay in twos in the same space for their safety, particularly during Covid. There is evidence that their safety was far more compromised during the pandemic. I am alarmed that there have been 20 charges of brothel keeping. It would be good to get a breakdown of that. Was it two women, five or 20, or, indeed, was it somebody pimping them and in charge of their work? The Minister will find, by and large, that it is two people working in the same space for their safety. There are many questions to be asked. It is important that we get the information on when the review will be complete and when we will have it, and on that cohort of very vulnerable people who are being charged for protecting and keeping themselves safe. The other question I asked was whether we could get the number of those who have been charged with the purchase of sex, so we can look at the figures and see what is happening.

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