Results 6,421-6,440 of 20,831 for speaker:David Norris
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: The Minister was seeking what is called a "comfort break," so perhaps he should take it now because I will take some time. I would not like him to be agonised while I speak. Does the Minister wish to have a break now?
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: On his own bladder be it. To challenge the question of the Swedish experience, I quote from a report of the Norwegian Ministry of Justice: "The Swedish street prostitutes experience a tougher time." That is the evidence. The Minister asked if there was evidence and said there was none. I have it with me. It is an official report from the Norwegian Ministry of Justice. It continues:They...
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: They are open to the most severe challenge. I refer to a 2007 report of the National Board of Health and Welfare in Sweden. That is quite official; it is a fairly authoritative voice. It states:It is also difficult to discern any clear trend of development: has the extent of prostitution increased or decreased? We cannot give any unambiguous answer to that question. [How does the...
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: No, I am directly addressing my reasons for refusing to consent to the passage of this section. One Irish prostitute noted that the new law will make it more difficult to find apartments and hotels in which to work. She expressed concern that workers who are already established may find it easier as they already have a network, while new girls will be more likely to put themselves in danger...
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: I am a member of three unions and I was never consulted. Not a single trade union consulted its general membership about this. This is the strength of it. It was a PR campaign railroaded through. The Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality had a jaunt to Sweden, and while it was there, the Swedish forum for human rights confirmed the trafficking of more than 166 children between...
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: For God's sake.
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: Abortion once again, abortion once again-----
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: The criminalisation of sex work is increasingly being recognised as a human rights concern. The UN special rapporteur on the right to health has explicitly called for the decriminalisation of sex work. The final report of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, an independent body convened by the UN development programme on behalf of the joint United Nations programme on HIV-AIDS, has...
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: That we take a comfort break?
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: That is fine as long as I can continue. I just have a few more points to make.
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: It will take perhaps up to five minutes.
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: That is why I was asking. The Minister of State still looks perfectly serene. I do not know how he can be in light of the blistering account I have given him of all those organisations that have a completely contrary point of view and whose voice was silenced by Turn Off the Red Light. My document states:In Norway, leading academic researchers have cautioned that the reported decrease in...
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: Moreover, the document states:For example, the Norwegian report stated that: “[W]omen in the street market report to have a weaker bargaining position and more safety concerns now than before the law was introduced. At the indoors market, prostitutes express concerns for ‘out-door calls’. They prefer to have customers visiting them at their own apartment or own hotel...
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: Only 1% of the prostitutes in Northern Ireland said they were coerced.
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: I have information that what I say is the case so we will just have to differ on this. Let me make one final comment.
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: I accept that some of the sex workers wanted their evidence heard in private but I do not believe that is universally the case.
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: I cannot hear a word she is saying; perhaps it is just as well.
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: In a review of the television programme “Sex For Sale” by RTE Investigates - that well-known, reputable group - Emmanuel Kehoe in The Sunday Business Poststated:Viewers might be forgiven for wondering whether, when gangs can operate so successfully and openly in Ireland despite current legislation, a new law, if weakly enforced, will prove a real deterrent. Is it not likely...
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: Some.
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)
David Norris: No. The Minister of State said "No."