Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. I commend the Cross-Party Group of Senators Harmon, Cosgrove, Noonan and Stephenson on bringing forward this legislation. In particular, I commend Senator Harmon, who highlighted this issue in her previous role and brought attention to it right across the political spectrum. It is a positive sign that she has followed through on those threads and issues now that she has the opportunity to do so in the Oireachtas.

This welcome legislation builds on Bills that were previously tabled by both the Social Democrats and Sinn Féin. It reflects a grim reality in Ireland's housing crisis, namely, the exploitation of vulnerable renters through sex-for-rent arrangements. It seeks to criminalise what is a predatory practice. To be clear, offering accommodation in exchange for sexual services is not a transaction. It is coercion and abuse that thrives in the shadows of a broken housing system. The failure of successive governments to act for years leaves some renters particularly vulnerable, especially women, migrants and students, including international students, who are at the intersection of migrants and students and do not always have family networks and other supports to fall back on. These people are being left at the mercy of landlords who exploit desperation.

A 2023 survey by the Irish Council for International Students found that 5% of female international students had been directly offered accommodation in exchange for sex or had seen such advertisements. These are not isolated incidents. The National Women's Council of Ireland reported last year that sex-for-rent proposals had become a commonplace feature of Ireland's rental market, with predators targeting those facing homelessness or with precarious immigration status. Despite this level of incidence, Ireland does not have a specific law against this type of exploitation.

People have praised the important reporting done by the Irish Examiner. When that newspaper highlighted these practices in 2021, there was a promise of urgent action. We are now at the third legislative attempt to deal with the issue. Before focusing on the details of the Bill and outlining why it is important, I urge the Minister not just to not oppose the Bill. The Government did not oppose the previous proposals put forward by Sinn Féin and the Social Democrats, but those Bills are lodged on Second Stage. There should be a signal, at this third attempt, that we will actually move on this matter.

This is a very nuanced and carefully worded Bill. It addresses only part of the problem, namely, advertisements. As an Oireachtas, we should set a collective target that the law be changed before next September, when another round of young people will be seeking accommodation, with students coming from all corners of Ireland, and, indeed, from across the world, to every location in which there is a university. We should have a very clear legislative signal on the Statute Book by next September that any attempt to exploit those young people will not be acceptable. Working together and with the co-operation of the Government, either by bringing forward its own legislation or, as I would suggest, taking this Bill, working with it and perhaps lending some Government time to that, there is no reason we, as an Oireachtas, cannot deliver legislation before next September and before we see another round of shocking stories unfold.

The Bill imposes fines of up to €50,000 on landlords advertising or soliciting sex-for-rent arrangements. It closes legal loopholes that have allowed predators to operate with impunity to date. It recognises that exploitation will not always begin with advertisements but can come through manipulative private messages after a seemingly normal rental inquiry. An argument has been made that existing laws should suffice, but they do not. Current legislation treats these cases as very minor offences under tenant-landlord disputes. As we know, there is a wide range of such disputes and these particular cases join a long backlog. Such activity is not treated as sexual exploitation, which is what it is.

Without specific prohibitions, victims do not see a clear path to justice. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has confirmed that only two such cases have reached court in the past decade, with both being dismissed due to insufficient evidence. The current laws are not sufficient to address this issue. These prosecutions are very remote under the current legislation and systems, which the Minister has acknowledged. If the State cannot guarantee enforcement under the current law, then the law needs to be strengthened by way of the Bill that is before us.

A crucial point is that the Bill is not simply about punishment; it is also about prevention. The very fact of putting this legislation on the Statute Book, thereby criminalising advertisements and solicitation, will disrupt the cycle of exploitation. International evidence shows that explicit bans have reduced such offers by more than 60% within two years in France and Portugal, where similar laws were passed. This is about prevention and sending a signal as to what is not acceptable.

The Bill is only a necessary first step. We need a wide range of other measures, including victim support services, public awareness campaigns and more. Crucially, we must address the housing crisis which creates these vulnerabilities in the first place. Progressing the Bill is an important first step. The language in section 3 could be strengthened a little to include some of the references to "reasonable inference" contained in section 2. However, it is really good and straightforward legislation. I hope the Government will support it and lead on progressing it.