Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming here today and presenting this long-awaited Bill to the House. Fianna Fáil supports the passage of this Bill and it did so through the Dáil and Seanad previously. We are pleased that it has been strengthened by the inclusion of a definition of consent. The Bill criminalises the purchase of sexual services rather than the sale of them. We in Fianna Fáil are very happy to see this inclusion. The vulnerable women and children trafficked into this country for sexual exploitation deserve our protection. Decriminalisation will facilitate their access to vital health and support services. This is very welcome. Due to the changing nature of prostitution in Ireland we need legislation such as this to protect these vulnerable women and children. Criminalisation of the purchase of sexual services will do that. Prostitution is not conducted in the way it used to be. It is now conducted over the Internet and the phone and not on street corners. In 1999, Sweden was the first country to criminalise the purchase of sex. This legislation was framed in terms of prostitution being incompatible with contemporary values and it being a serious social problem. It was also seen as a serious barrier to gender equality. A study in 2010 showed that since its introduction street prostitution was halved. In 1995, the estimated total of women involved in prostitution was approximately 3,000, with 650 of those engaging in street prostitution. In 2008, however, there were 350 advertised prostitutes on the Internet and 300 on the street, so clearly it has had a dramatic impact on numbers.

This Bill also strengthens laws to combat child pornography and prevent the sexual grooming of children on the Internet. It also amends provisions on incest and indecent exposure. This aspect has been welcomed by the ISPCC, and the special rapporteur on child protection, Dr. Geoffrey Shannon, has described this Bill as the most important legislation on child protection since the foundation of the State. That is very significant.

It is long overdue, and it will close the gap created by the outdated legislation that is currently in place that enables abusers to prey on vulnerable children on the Internet. We in Fianna Fáil were concerned that there was no inclusion of a definition of consent-----