Government still considering sex-for-rent laws

The Oireachtas Justice Committee recommended that the Ban on Sex for Rent Bill 2022 should not proceed through the Dail because of concerns with the legislation.

The government is to consider legislation to tackle sex-for-rent propositions following recommendations from the ongoing review into legislation criminalising the purchase of sex.

The Departments of Justice and Housing have told the Irish Examiner that legislative proposals will be considered when recommendations from the review of Part 4 of the Sexual Offences Act 2017, which is currently underway.

An independent expert was appointed in July 2020 to conduct the review of that legislation, which criminalises payment for sexual activity with a prostitute or a trafficked person.

A spokesman for the Department of Housing said: “This review is currently underway and officials from this department will continue to support the Department of Justice as and when required in this matter.” 

Last week, the Oireachtas Justice Committee recommended that the Ban on Sex for Rent Bill 2022 should not proceed through the Dail because of concerns with the legislation.

The bill was introduced in the Dáil in March by Social Democrats housing spokesman Cian O’Callaghan, in response to an investigation into sex for rent arrangements in Ireland by the Irish Examiner.

Jail term and fines

The bill proposed a jail term of seven years and a fine of up to €50,000. The offences in the bill include sex for rent propositions, as well as the advertising of such propositions, and the hosting of such advertisements.

In a report outlining its decision, the committee said that submissions during its consultation process pointed out that the stigma which remains around offences including rape and prostitution “could deter people from reporting instances of sex-for-rent if these offences remained the only way through which to prosecute such crimes".

The report highlighted, however, that there is a lack of clarity in the bill on the definitions of several elements of the legislation, “in particular in the drafting of core terms in relation to the criminal offences created by the bill”, adding that there are “significant legal faults within the bill as drafted”.

The committee said it could present challenges and difficulties if the legislation was brought before the courts, adding: “The bill could potentially be found to be unconstitutional.” 

Concern over bill

According to the report, the Attorney General, Paul Gallagher, was concerned that the bill was not precise enough in its “definition of terms used and the proposed boundaries of the offence”. 

The report added that Mr Gallagher was concerned that the bill “does not consider how the new offences it would create will interact with existing sexual offences or domestic violence legislation".

Referring to the Department of Justice, the report added: “They (the Department) stated that further consideration and legal advice is needed before recommending the best legislative approach for this issue of sex-for-rent, but that it may be preferable to address the issue through amendment the existing offence of payment for sexual acts for the purposes of prostitution.”

One case highlighted by the Irish Examiner involved accommodation in Clare being offered online to a “slim Ukrainian” woman, with an expectation of sex “after a while”. The landlord demanded a photo from a prospective tenant and refused to reveal the exact location of the property or send photos of it if a photo was not sent to him first.