Averil Power (Fianna Fail)

I would like to thank the Minister of State for filling in for the Minister for Justice and Equality. I agree that a public consultation is very important. It is important to have people informed about this issue before a major change is made. I am not reassured by the statement in the script given to the Minister of State that the Department of Justice and Equality is of the view that our current law is strong, or that it is being enforced. "Prime Time" clearly showed that is not the case and that is also the view of the likes of Ruhama, which is an organisation that works with women involved in prostitution.

I welcome the Minister of State's statement that the public consultation document should be ready in the next few weeks. I hope that we can then move forward.