Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

70. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality when it is proposed to enact legislation to criminalise the purchase of sex services from victims of sex trafficking; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36457/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015 includes two new offences of purchasing, in the context of prostitution, sexual services.

The first is a general offence of purchasing sexual services 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 purchasing a sexual service from a trafficked person 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 be subject to an offence.

The Bill has completed passage through Seanad Éireann and is awaiting Committee stage in Dáil Éireann.