Call for laws to target those who pay for sex

Ireland must introduce laws that prosecute people who pay for sex or face becoming a haven for pimps and traffickers, the Immigrant Council of Ireland has warned.

Northern Ireland is to introduce new legislation on June 1 that will make it illegal to pay for prostitutes, the only part of Britain or Ireland with such a law.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald published the heads of a bill last November that would outlaw the purchase of sexual services and the council says she should go ahead and implement it as soon as possible.