Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister to the House and I welcome this motion by the Taoiseach's nominees. This is a very important issue. It is disturbing that tonight and every night, people who have been trafficked will be exploited. The measures in the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 have not been sufficient. The purchase of sex is not a criminal offence and this leads to trafficking. Other Senators have spoken about the Swedish legislation. Senator Bacik has explained that it is not just a case of introducing legislation and she noted that other initiatives are undertaken apart from legislative measures. As a result in Sweden there is a compliance level of 80%. The reduction was from one in eight men in Sweden purchasing sex to one in 40. This illustrates that because it becomes a criminal offence, this causes a change in behaviour and this is what we should consider.

There is an argument that prostitution involves free will, that it is a transaction between two consenting adults. This is an argument made by those who, for reasons difficult to comprehend, try to legitimise or rationalise what happens. It might be the oldest profession but that does not mean it is a noble profession. The women involved are forced into this work, either through personal circumstances or trauma or because of addiction or for economic reasons. Trafficked people are fooled into the work and their very freedom is taken away when their passports are confiscated and they are prisoners in this country, for all intents and purposes.

On another issue, people are also being trafficked for the harvesting of organs. This is an issue which the Minister for Health will deal with in the future. The modern-day version of slavery is where people are being used for sex or for work in sweatshops as is the case in other jurisdictions. The fact before us is that the exploiters are not criminalised and if the Swedish policy were adopted it would produce a change in behaviour.