Irish men are paying for sex with foreign women who have been forced into prostitution, the Dáil was told.
Noel O'Flynn (FF, Cork North Central) said that "trafficking and prostitution are expressions of a gross form of prejudice against women. They blight the lives of the weakest women in society - the young, the poor, the sexually abused, those dependent on alcohol or drugs, foreign women and women who are coerced."
Speaking during the debate on the introduction of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Bill, Mr Flynn said "the truth is that Irish men are paying money for sex with foreign women who live in terror of beatings and other punishments".
He said that "international experience suggests that countries that have legalised prostitution create an environment that is more conducive to trafficking. It creates a safe haven for criminals who can now operate with impunity under the cover of legitimacy. In the state of Victoria in Australia it was found that, contrary to expectations, legalisation resulted in a great increase in unlicensed brothels."
Mary O'Rourke (FF, Longford-Westmeath) said: "We may not be open about the subject, but it is a question of men paying money to get women and of the debasement of women."
She added: "The Ireland of which we speak and to which women are being trafficked is no longer the land of comely maidens and youthful swains who are seeking to meet, talk and walk with one another. Rather, it is a land of sleazy brothels where seedy acts are carried out for money.
"The women acting as the conduit for the money are receiving very small recompense and are victims of international groups which are, in many cases, very powerful and are seeking to establish centres in various countries."
Ms O'Rourke expressed concern "that the Bill does nothing to change the law whereby those who are trafficked can be jailed or deported. What are we talking about? It is the most awful thing. Perhaps we are harking back to the days of cherchez la femme, when it was assumed that women were at fault. It is proposed that women can be jailed or deported for the crime of having been trafficked."
Olwyn Enright (FG, Laois-Offaly) said "the Bill does not go far enough in protecting and supporting the victims it should be helping". They "should not be seen as criminals in any way".
Terence Flanagan (FG, Dublin North East) said there had "not been a single prosecution for the crime of trafficking, even though individuals have been arrested and charged. This is in contrast to other countries where there have been up to 7,000 prosecutions in 20 countries with 3,000 convictions."
However, Seán Connick (FF, Wexford) believed "this Bill will allow Ireland to come into line with many other countries which are committed to the eradication of human trafficking. It will also allow Ireland to comply with the many international commitments we have signed up to at European and UN level."
