Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

I concur with Senator Mullen's praise for Ruhama's great work and this side of the House has no issue with it.

This Bill deals with human trafficking. I obtained information from research undertaken by Ruhama that the number of people, primarily but not exclusively women, who have been trafficked into Ireland, is less than 90. I referred to these figures on Second Stage last week. In my view the majority of those people are being sexually exploited. We must endeavour to see the wood from the trees. We do not have as serious a problem as other countries but it is becoming a bigger problem and it should be nipped in the bud. I am inclined to agree that the wider issue of prostitution cannot be dealt with in this Bill and may require another forum. Even one person trafficked is one too many.

Senator O'Toole raised a valid point when he referred to the 1993 Act, which refers to prostitution on a street corner or in a park where a girl may be solicited. However, as Senator O'Toole said, that Act does not provide for prostitution indoors in a brothel or in an apartment rented furtively by pimps who move frequently from place to place, folding their tents and moving on when caught. I ask for clarification on whether there is sufficient legislation to cover the use of a hotel room, a brothel that moves from one part of the city or country to another part. The 1993 Act does not sufficiently legislate for such situations. I ask the Minister of State to reflect on some of the interesting points made on Committee Stage