Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter and I acknowledge her strong record in this policy area over many years and her contribution in ensuring this legislation was placed on the Statute Book.

I would like to remind the House of the provisions of the Act, as they refer to prostitution-related offences. Part 4 provides for two new offences of purchasing sexual services in the context of prostitution. The purpose of these offences is to target the demand for prostitution. This Part also removes those who provide sexual services through prostitution from the existing offences of soliciting and loitering for the purpose of prostitution. The new offences under the Act are, first, a general offence of paying to engage in sexual activity with a prostitute, which carries a penalty of a fine of up to €500 for a first offence and fines of up to €1,000 for a second or subsequent offence, and, second, the more serious offence of paying for sexual activity with a trafficked person, in the context of prostitution, an offence which carries a potential penalty of up to five years imprisonment and-or a fine. In both cases, the person selling or, in the case of a trafficked or exploited person being forced to sell, the sexual service will not commit an offence.

The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act was enacted on 22 February 2017, and much of the Act, including the provisions I have just described, was commenced on 27 March 2017 - one year ago today, as the Senator said. Since then, the offences have been available for investigation and prosecution by An Garda Síochána and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The operation of the offences, and data gathering mechanisms in respect of same, are operational matters for those organisations. I acknowledge the work of many support organisations in this area, in particular, the Turn Off the Red Light campaign, Ruhama, Ms Denise Charlton and others.

A new incident category on PULSE, titled "Purchase of Sex" will capture the offence of the purchase of sexual services. This is part of PULSE Release R7.3 and is scheduled to be live on PULSE by 30 March 2018.It will provide a facility to capture all incidents relating to the purchase of sexual services. The Garda national protective services bureau is monitoring the impact of the offences and is developing initiatives to ensure adequate and proper enforcement. Senator Bacik will be aware that arrangements for the measurement of the impact of the law are set out in section 27 thereof. The section specifies that a report will be prepared after three years on the number of arrests during the initial three-year period in respect of the new offences, as well as an assessment of the impact of the offences on those who provide sexual services for payment.

Senator Bacik is right to speak about resources. Last night, I attended the annual conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors where the issue of resources for training on new legislation such as this was discussed. As Minister, I am very keen to ensure the resources the Government provides to An Garda Síochána are focused on these new areas of activity and investigation, all of which are extremely important in the context of this reforming legislation.