Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with much of what Senator Bacik said. I, too, was quite disturbed by some of the comments that have been made. Many of them had classist undertones. I refer to remarks about robbing pieces of silver on the way out the door, about people having nice houses and involving stereotypical images of prostitutes as individuals who are just on the make. Such comments really disturbed me.

Blackmail can work both ways. Vulnerable people who engage in prostitution are often blackmailed for the rest of their lives. Their lives are as valuable as anybody else's. I would have great concerns about the comments that were made on blackmailing. In terms of the comment about the young lad up from Kerry, it is right and proper that he should face consequences. We should see the purchase of sex as abhorrent and not something in which anybody who wishes to progress in life should be engaging. He is not just some innocent bystander, led astray by a 30 year old woman. We should be shifting society to a place where it sees prostitution as abhorrent, just like drink driving has become in recent years.

Reference was made to the Swedish model and Northern Ireland was also mentioned. I do not know too much about the situation in Northern Ireland but I do know that the legislation there was only introduced two years ago. It may take some time to see its full effect in terms of a reduction in demand. That is what this Bill is all about, namely, reducing the demand for prostitution. We need people to feel that there is a huge risk involved in paying vulnerable individuals for sex. I do not think anyone engages in prostitution unless he or she is vulnerable. That vulnerability may be the result of trafficking, poverty or a combination of both. Nobody who has grown enjoying the opportunities that many of us have enjoyed would engage in prostitution. It is not compatible with contemporary values, as I said earlier. It is also a serious barrier to gender equality.

Some of the arguments presented during this debate are quite shocking. The argument on privacy rights expressed by Senator Bacik was quite right and I fully agree with her views on that.