Our newly-elected councillors and MEPs have a duty to show political leadership on the issue of human trafficking for sexual exploitation which has brought organised crime to communities across Ireland.

68 groups involved in the 'Turn Off the Red Light' campaign will be lobbying politicians today to make it illegal to buy sex.

The Government is coming under increasing pressure to punish those who buy sex and to move away from the current emphasis on prosecuting prostitutes.

Gardaí will issue a photograph this morning of a teenage girl who may have been trafficked here in a bid to uncover her identity.

The clear, unambiguous statements of Cork City councillors (Council: Criminalise buying of sex, Irish Examiner, Sep 25), in calling for an end to sex trafficking by making it illegal to pay for sex, stand in marked contrast to the silence of local TDs on the issue.

Your recent investigation into prostitution and the human misery it is causing could not be more timely and is an important contribution to the debate over whether or not to make it an offence to pay for sex.

As the Government prepares to finally launch its public consultation on criminalising users of prostitutes, experts have warned it may already be too late as Ireland is set to become a haven for traffickers.

MEN who buy sex should be prosecuted to act as a deterrent to prostitution and human trafficking, according to a number of public health doctors.

A group of high-profile men today called on the incoming Government to reform vice laws to target people who pay for sex instead of women forced into prostitution.