Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Nonetheless, it got people tweeting quite a lot. I mention this because it is closely related to the point I am making in so far as it shows how quickly a tipping point can be reached that results in the exploitation of others. The exploitation of others - and it is mainly women who get exploited - is at the heart of prostitution. I was very impressed by a column written by Breda O'Brien in which she asked what young girl grows up with the aspiration of being in prostitution. I would like to conclude by making two pleas. I appeal for the abolition of phrases like "sex worker" and "prostitute" because they sanitise people in one case and stigmatise people in the other case. We should talk about "people who are engaged in prostitution" as something sad and regrettable that we need to work to end. I would also like to appeal for the question of whether this legislation might have unforeseen consequences to be taken very seriously. If Senator McDowell is right in what he says about the decriminalisation of the activities of one party and the criminalisation of the activities of the other party, that is not an argument for failing to criminalise the purchaser and the desirability of criminalising the user stands. It is an argument for revisiting this issue and we should always be open to a discussion on it. The unforeseen and unhappy consequences raised by Senator McDowell need to be considered. Perhaps they should be considered after 9 p.m. this evening to enable us to see whether this legislation needs to be tweaked to address them in some way, or whether this is simply something we need to review on an ongoing basis into the future.