Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not think being poor should ever be regarded or accepted as a justification for resorting to any criminal activity.

I do not think this proposal should apply in certain situations. I refer to women who do this voluntarily. I am not speaking about those who do it out of financial necessity, because they are addicted to drugs, because they are being trafficked or because their pimps - boyfriends, in many instances - are forcing them to do it. It is absurd, as Senator Norris has said, that women would not be subject to a criminal offence in circumstances in which none of those things applies.