Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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67. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality to outline his plans to implement the recommendations from the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality regarding changes to prostitution laws. [52790/13]

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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In 1981, ten men died on hunger strike in order that they could not be labelled as criminals. Bobby Sands was elected as an MP. Kieran Doherty was elected as a Member to this House. We did not let Maggie Thatcher criminalise them and we are not going to let Fianna Fáil criminalise them today. I wanted to stated that on the record in case they think any differently.

The Minister has the report on the changes to the prostitution laws. I am keen to hear his views on it and whether he will consider implementing the recommendations of the report.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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It is unfortunate that the Deputy continues to defend murder and assassinations. If we want to deal with the truth of what happened in the North, we should confront the reality of conduct in which people were engaged.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister has no interest in the truth.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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However, the Deputy appears to have greater insight into the area of prostitution than the conflict that took place on this island for 30 years.

In respect of the Deputy's question on this area, no policy decisions have been taken in this matter as yet. The Deputy will be aware the joint committee published its report on hearings and submissions on the review of prostitution legislation on 27 June last. I have requested the views of the Attorney General and the Minister for Health on the report. I have also corresponded with the committee since it published its report to seek clarification and elaboration of some of its recommendations. The Chairman's reply of 6 November provided very detailed and helpful responses and this has also been referred to the Attorney General and the Minister for Health for examination. Policy decisions by the Government must await their examination of the legal and health implications of the committee's recommendations and each must have the opportunity to prepare considered views and advices.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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As the Minister is aware, a huge amount of work went into this report. There were approximately 800 submissions as a range of people appeared before the joint committee. It is an all-party report and the Minister will agree that, at present, those who avail of the services of prostitutes throughout Ireland walk away scot free, while the unfortunate people - very often foreign nationals - who are vulnerable, find themselves paraded in local newspapers and radio stations and with their lives reported on. A decision must be made to pass responsibility onto the users, rather than those who, in the vast majority albeit not all cases, are vulnerable, are being used by others and whose dignity is taken away by the process. I ask the Minister to do something courageous and to do what is right with regard to this all-party series of recommendations based on a great amount of work and deliberations. As the recommendations are crystal clear, I again ask the Minister whether he can implement them.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Obviously, the Deputy has greater insight into this area than that with which Members were dealing earlier.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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God almighty.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I have treated the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality with great seriousness. As the Deputy is aware, the Department held its own detailed one-day seminar on this particular issue some considerable time ago now. Some issues arise from the report, including issues relevant to the Department of Health, based on the approach taken to this issue by the World Health Organization. Consequently, it is important to receive the observations of the Department of Health on the report. I greatly appreciate the detailed response I received from the joint committee to the series of queries I raised and it should form part of the public record of the engagement on this issue that both the queries I raised and the Department's responses be published. I have written to the Chairman of the joint committee in proposing this and hopefully that will occur. There also are issues for the Attorney General's office to deal with. There is one particular issue, which is whether any constitutional difficulties could arise. It may be the case that they do not, but advice is needed as to whether constitutional issues could arise with regard to implementing aspects of the recommendations received.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Go raibh maith agat.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I hope to receive observations from the Department of Health, as well as legal clarification from the Attorney General's office, early in the new year after which my Department will be in a position to bring matters for final consideration.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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Obviously I am aware of the Minister's concerns or the clarifications he sought from the joint committee to which he now has the responses. I believe these responses deal adequately with the concerns he has raised and there comes a point in time at which one must make the decision. In the North of Ireland at present, a Bill sponsored by Maurice Morrow will be moving through the Assembly and going through the different Stages. I believe the outcome will be the introduction of Swedish model with which the Minister is very familiar. I will ask the Minister a direct question. Does he believe those who avail of the services of people who in the vast majority of cases are vulnerable, are foreign nationals and are used, should be asked to take the penalty, rather than those who find themselves in that situation?

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I have dealt with the Deputy's questions. Robust legislation is in place that addresses organised prostitution and human trafficking for sexual exploitation, including the prostitution and trafficking of children. It is sometimes forgotten that such legislation is in place. I need to get the responses we have sought from the Department of Health and Children and from the Attorney General before we can adequately advance this matter. We will then need to make decisions based on the detailed report received, the diversity of views expressed, the recommendations of the committee and the legal advices obtained from the Office of the Attorney General. I hope we will be in a position to do all this next year, having engaged in a very careful deliberative process and having regard to the whole variety of issues. I cannot simply deal with this issue from a justice perspective as there are very serious and important health issues, some of which have been dealt with in great detail outside the State but which were not dealt with in detail by the committee. The committee was asked a question about certain health issues but it did not deal in the detail with which the matter is being considered elsewhere. I must be very careful that from the point of view of public policy we consider this issue comprehensively. I note with interest that the French Parliament has recently taken steps to implement in France the legislation applicable in Sweden. This issue is getting wider discussion across Europe and we will be engaged constructively in this discussion in 2014.