FAILURE TO amend the prostitution laws could lead to Ireland becoming the new “red light district of Europe”, a Fine Gael TD has claimed. Party immigration spokesman Denis Naughten yesterday said that Ireland has not reformed its laws on soliciting and prostitution, unlike many other EU states.
Mr Naughten said the Dutch authorities had recently decided to close a third of Amsterdam’s notorious red light district because its liberal policy on prostitution had failed to prevent organised crime and human trafficking. Similarly, he said, both Norway and Sweden had outlawed the buying of services from a prostitute.
He said that in Britain new legislation will have the effect of clamping down on those who buy sex from women who have been victims of sex trafficking. Mr Naughten claimed tougher laws elsewhere could lead to illegal traffickers targeting Ireland. He called for the establishment of a group to review and examine prostitution laws with a view to preventing the proliferation of sex trafficking in a growing industry.