Cathal BarryBishop John McAreavey has called on the Government to bring laws on prostitution in the South in line with the law in the North.
The Bishop of Dromore warned that failure to do so would result in prostitution becoming a “scourge” in border towns such as Dundalk, Monaghan or Letterkenny.
“What you will find is that people who want to access prostitution could do it legally in the South but not in the North,” he told The Irish Catholic.
Calling on the Government to “prioritise” the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015, Dr McAreavey said “it would be terrific thing if the whole island had similar legislation in relation to prostitution and human trafficking”.
The bishop pointed to the fact that the proposals in the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015, introduced by Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, mirrored the approach adopted in Northern Ireland and other jurisdictions.
Political will
Acknowledging that there was a “strong political will to get this Bill onto the statue books”, Dr McAreavey warned that “with the Government coming towards the end of its life span, of course, there would be a temptation to drop it”.
However, the bishop said that he believes “the minister is very committed to it and most of the parties in the Dáil are in support of it”.
“I think there is a strong political will to get this bill onto the statue books and I think it would be a really positive thing for the whole island,” he said.
Speaking to this newspaper following EU Anti-trafficking Day on Sunday, Dr McAreavey also warned that there was a “lack of public awareness” about the issue of human trafficking in Ireland.
“There is an assumption that it is an issue somewhere else. It’s insidious and obviously fiercely abusive of people who don’t have too many choices and don’t have much protection,” he said.