David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The organisation should be ashamed of itself for talking about a leak. The information is in the public domain and we want to know how these things were allowed to happen.

A short while ago, Senator Bacik, a good friend of mine and someone I respect and admire a great deal, congratulated the Government on the passage of the Act that criminalised the purchase of sex. As I recall, I was the only person in the House with the guts to oppose that disgusting, smug, middle-class piece of hypocrisy. I predicted at the time we debated it that the legislation would lead to increased dangers for sex workers. In fact, violence against them has increased by 92% in the past year. The most vulnerable people have been left exposed by the provisions of the legislation. The World Health Organization, AIDS organisations and others came out against the Bill at the time, but smug, middle-class hypocrisy and voter appeal won out. It is a disgrace.