Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the information he has provided and for the tables of data which I will go through with great interest. I also thank him for his kind comments. I note, as the Minister of State said, this is an ongoing issue and I thank him in particular for speaking in a little more detail about the requirement in the 2017 Act for a report after a three year period on the number of arrests during the period in respect of the new offences and an assessment of the impact of the offences. I look forward to that report, and I certainly look forward to working with the Minister of State in the interim to ensure the Act is working well and is effectively tackling the demand for prostitution, which was our aim in putting forward the legislation. I should have said one of the most important aspects of the reform, which the Minister of State rightly pointed out, is not only that it has criminalised the purchase of sexual services but, of course, that it has decriminalised those engaged in selling sexual services. It is explicitly, therefore, recognising the exploitation experienced by those engaged in prostitution. That, of course, was a hugely important part of our report and of the legislation. I thank the Minister of State for this and I look forward to working with him.