Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There was a legal obligation to carry out the review. The terms of reference specifically stated that the purpose of the review was to discover the information that exists regarding the number of arrests and convictions and the impact of the legislation, and whether it was doing what it was supposed to do to protect sex workers on the ground. We have criminalised the purchase of sex. From any of the information I have obtained and from various reports I have read, this has reduced the level of safety among sex workers.

I have a difficulty in that the legal obligation to carry out a review has not been complied with. The various reports from Northern Ireland, from the University of Limerick and from Amnesty International - which I may have a chance to come back to in my second contribution - all suggest that sex workers have become more endangered as a result of what has happened. In the context of Northern Ireland, the research has highlighted the prevalence of the consequences of what has happened regarding the legislation there. I will come back to this topic in my second contribution.

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