Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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78. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she is aware of the report of the home affairs committee in the British House of Commons entitled Prostitution Report (Third Report of Session 2016-17); if its conclusions have implications for Part 4 of the Sexual Offences Bill 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21408/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015, which completed all stages in the Seanad in January 2016, 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. The first is 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 €1000 for a second or subsequent offence. The second is the more serious offence of paying for sexual activity with a trafficked person, in the context of prostitution, and carries a potential penalty of up to 5 years imprisonment and/or a fine. In both cases, the person selling the sexual service will not commit an offence.

These proposals implement the recommendation of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality and Defence which called for the introduction of an offence criminalising the purchase of sexual services. The purpose of introducing these provisions is primarily to target the trafficking and sexual exploitation of persons through prostitution.

The current inquiry into the legal framework on prostitution being undertaken by the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee in the UK is similar to that undertaken here by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality and Defence. I would note that the UK Home Affairs Committee report on Prostitution, referred to by the Deputy, is an interim report which does not make any recommendation on the legislative model which should be followed by England and Wales.

In deciding to put forward the proposals provided for in the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015 I have considered all sides of the debate. I have considered the experience of those states which have introduced similar measures and those states which have addressed prostitution in a different way. I have also considered the reports and findings of various international organisations. Both the Council of Europe and the European Parliament have recognised the effectiveness of the criminalisation of the purchase of sexual services as a tool in the fight against human trafficking. Further research and opinions will inevitably be published during the progress of the legislation and I will continue to examine and consider all new evidence.

I remain convinced that to target the exploitation associated with prostitution requires targeting those who demand those services. The most direct way of combatting this form of exploitation is to send the message to those who pay for these services, and who ignore the exploitation of the women and men involved, that their behaviour is unacceptable and that their behaviour supports the exploitation of other people.