Blog

Posted on

Senators call for ban on purchase of sex to curb prostitution and trafficking

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday 12th of October***

SENATORS CALL FOR BAN ON PURCHASE OF SEX TO CURB PROSTITUTION AND TRAFFICKING

The Independent Senators (Taoiseach’s Nominees) will put a motion before the Seanad today proposing the Government introduce legislation criminalising the purchase of sex in order to curb prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation.

The Independents describe prostitution in Ireland as a sophisticated and lucrative industry with more than 1000 women made available for paid sex on a daily basis. The Criminal Assets Bureau has valued the Irish sex industry at €250 million a year. The Independents believe that current laws on prostitution are ambiguous and insufficient. The motion notes evidence from Sweden and Norway which shows that criminal sanction for the purchase of sex are a proven deterrent to prostitution and consequently to trafficking and also to organised crime. Swedish police have stated that the Swedish ban on the purchase of sex acts as a barrier to human trafficking.

A 2009 report, commissioned by the Immigrant Council of Ireland, found that prostitution and trafficking are inextricably linked. 91 women and 11 children were trafficked into Ireland in 2007/2008 for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

Senator Katherine Zappone stated, “We recognise that the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a modern form of slavery and a form of human rights abuse. International and Irish research documents time and again acknowledge characteristics of slavery, as it applies to sex trafficking and prostitution.”

Senator Jillian Van Turnhout added, “There is a reluctance to acknowledge that this very modern slave trade is happening here in Ireland. The evidence from child victims cannot be ignored any longer. Child trafficking is a problem at the heart of our communities, not just in our cities but in our towns and villages. It is imperative that we take all the steps necessary to tackle the trafficking of children in Ireland for sexual exploitation.”

The motion will be put before the Seanad at 5pm today. Coalition members from the Turn off the Red Light Campaign will be present in the visitor’s gallery for the debate.
ENDS

Note to Editor:
Independent Senators (Taoiseach’s Nominees) are: Jillian Van Turnhout, Katherine Zappone, Fiach MacConghail, Eamonn Coghlan, Martin McAleese, Mary-Ann O’Brien and Marie-Louise O’Donnell.

Posted on

Senator van Turnhout Regrets No Commencement Date for 116 000 Missing Children Hotline

Press Release
12/10/2011: For Immediate Release.

Senator van Turnhout Regrets no Commencement Date for 116 000 Missing Children Hotline

Following a Seanad motion initiated by Senator Jillian van Turnhout, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald TD, today announced a commitment from her Department and the Department of Justice and Equality to support the establishment of the long awaited 116 000 Missing Children Hotline. The motion, which received support from all parties and groups within the Seanad, pressed the Government for clarification as to why the Irish branch of the 116 000 Hotline had not yet been made operational.

In response to the Minister’s announcement, Senator van Turnhout said: “While I welcome Minister Fitzgerald’s expression of a commitment to the 116 000 Hotline in 2012, I must express my disappointment that the announcement was not that the Hotline would be established without delay. I truly believe this service is one of vital importance, not only in terms of raising the alarm about missing children but also as a support to the families of missing children, and indeed to missing children themselves. Consequently this further delay must be met with some regret.” Despite the cross party support for the motion, it has taken four years of campaigning to arrive at this announcement.

“While I am saddened that the announcement did not go further, I am encouraged that we in the Seanad could help bring attention to this issue, and to the tireless campaigning done by the ISPCC and other NGOs that has led to this announcement,” Senator van Turnhout said today. “However,” the Senator continue, “I feel it is essential that ComReg assigns a suitable service provider as soon as possible. Furthermore, I would strongly encourage ComReg to follow the lead of 13 of the 16 EU Member States in which the service is operated by members of Missing Children Europe. Who, in conjunction with Daphne, have developed the Minimum Quality Standard Framework within “A Practical Guide for Hotline Providers” to ensure that Missing Children Hotlines throughout Europe are run professionally, efficiently, and effectively and meet European standards of best practice for service users.” The Senator concluded by calling on the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to engage effectively and regularly with which ever service provider is assigned the Missing Children Hotline number and to ensure that the service is operating at its full potential without further delay.”

The 116 000 Missing Children Hotline is currently operational in 16 European Union Member States, and aims to provide assistance to families of missing children, particularly those facing a language barrier when dealing with local authorities, by providing a single point of contact whether at home or abroad.

-Ends-
For more information, please contact:
Senator Jillian van Turnhout Leader of the Independent Group (Taoiseach Nominees)
Phone: 01-6183375
e-mail: jillian.vanturnhout@oireachtas.ie

Notes to editor:
• The motion was presented to the Seanad on 12/10/2011.
• On the 15th of February 2007, the European Commission reserved the 116 000 phone number in all EU member states as a common number for emergency action whenever a child goes missing.
• The hotline is currently operational in 16 EU Member States: Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and the United Kingdom.
• In the Seanad today Senator van Turnhout cited the case of a group of Belgian children who were taken and hidden by their father in very poor and dangerous conditions. Following a request from the Belgian and Portuguese 116000 Missing Children Hotlines, the Portuguese evening news broadcast an appeal for information which concluded by showing 116 000 Missing Children Hotline number on screen. Minutes after the broadcast, the case was resolved.
• General information on the 116 000 Missing Children Hotline can be found at: http://www.hotline116000.eu/

Posted on

Statements on Finance

6th October 2011

I thank the Minister and welcome him to the House. I like the way he tells it the way it is but I do not always like what he tells us. He is in the midst of budget preparations and I would like to take this opportunity to remind him of child benefit payment. Child benefit is based on the principle of horizontal equity and is about income distribution from those without children to those with children, because many of us will benefit through our pensions from those children when they grow up. It cannot be looked at simplistically. Often it is proposed to tax or means test child benefit but as the Children’s Right Alliance has proved, this would be a very costly administrative exercise and the previous Government eventually came around to this position. I can provide the Minister with much research on this from the UK and other countries. Will the Minister confirm that child benefit payment should remain universal and paid equally to all children? As the Supreme Court stated, child benefit is children’s money and it should be paid equally to all children and not taxed.

Child poverty increased to 9% in 2009 from 6% in 2008 and is expected to increase again. Will the Minister pay particular attention to not reducing vital budgets such as child income supports and services for vulnerable children? Perhaps I will be able to speak more to the Minister about this on another opportunity.

Posted on

Sport and Recreation: Statements

4th October 2011

I thank the Minister of State for his earlier intervention and for his replies. I think Senators would echo what he has said. I also thank him for his recognition of the European Year of the Volunteer, which is very important. My colleagues have shared their sporting achievements. My best sporting achievement is to be standing here beside Senator Coghlan. Standing in his glow is the closest I have ever been to big sporting success.

I have two questions for the Minister of State. Success in Irish sports has proven to be of major benefit to the Irish economy, the well-being of our nation and increasing participation at local and high performance levels. With ten months remaining to the London Olympic Games how hopeful are we of retaining funding for sports in Ireland? The Olympic Torch will be coming to Ireland. Are there any plans in place to involve the public and volunteers on in its journey from Belfast to Dublin?

The local sports partnerships-Irish Sports Council-An Post cycling series appears to have been highly successful. Would the Minister of State agree it has had a serious impact in terms of participation and economic benefit to local communities?

Posted on

Address by President of the Irish Human Rights Commission

28th September 2011

I thank Dr. Manning for a very informative and enlightening address. I am strongly committed to the promotion and protection of human rights in Ireland, particularly children’s rights. I note that today is the 19th anniversary of Ireland’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – I am calling it national children’s day.

I wish to focus on commending all the national NGOs, civil society organisations and relevant stakeholders for their contributions to the UPR process. I would particularly like to congratulate the UPR cross-sectoral steering group for its innovative and inclusive national consultation process, which I believe is the model of best practice for NGO consultation and could be shared with others, particularly developing countries, after the report. I note also the act of engagement by the Department of Justice and Equality.
I wish to ask Dr. Manning the value of establishing a Department of Justice and Equality NGO standing committee, akin to the Department of Foreign Affairs NGO standing committee which was established in 1997, in order to provide a formal framework for a regular exchange of views between the Department and the NGO-civil society community on the follow-up and implementation of the UPR recommendations in Ireland over the next four years.

Posted on

Thirtieth Amendment of the Constitution (Houses of the Oireachtas Inquiries) Bill 2011- Second Stage

22nd September 2011

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Howlin, and the Government’s proposed amendment to the Constitution, which will give the Houses of the Oireachtas full inquiry jurisdiction and rectify the deficiencies identified by the Supreme Court in the Abbeylara judgment.

While listening to Senator O’Brien, Sir Humphrey Appleby telling “Yes, Minister” that this is a courageous decision came to mind.

I am sure the Senator did not mean it in the same spirit as Sir Humphrey Appleby. I worked in a previous capacity with the Minister and I am aware of his commitment to fairness and on this issue.
In July, we had an opportunity to speak in this House on the Cloyne report, which right I fully exercised. I take this opportunity to reiterate my admiration for the work done by Judge Yvonne Murphy, as chairperson of the commission, and her fellow commission members. The Murphy reports were empowered under the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 which was enacted to provide a more timely and cost-effective option to the tribunal of inquiry mechanism by taking a less adversarial approach, thus reducing the likelihood of resource to judicial intervention.

The Murphy reports have shown that this legislation is capable of providing for a robust, effective and efficient means of conducting investigations into matters of significant public concern. I understand that the proposed amendment is intended to provide a further improvement to and additional option within our inquiry mechanisms. I fully support the finding of the Joint Committee on the Constitution that the Constitution should expressly provide the Oireachtas with the power to conduct inquiries into matters of general public importance for the purpose of making findings in respect of the conduct of named individuals. I believe that subsections (2) and (3) of the proposed amendment meet these criteria. However, subsection (4) is a cause for concern for me. It gives the Oireachtas the power to “determine the appropriate balance between the rights of persons and the public interest and for the purpose of ensuring an effective inquiry”. I am concerned about where that balance is.

Posted on

Twenty-Ninth Amendment of the Constitution (Judges Remuneration) Bill 2011- Second Stage

21st September 2011

I thank the Minister and I greatly appreciate the openness in his approach to his work. I will make a brief point on the national vetting bureau Bill, which was mentioned by Senator Bradford. I welcome the Minister giving us some holiday work and I welcome his office being so open with regard to the questions I have had on the Bill. I thank the Minister.

To turn to the Bill before us, I welcome the Minister’s initiative to introduce constitutional and legislative mechanisms through which judges’ pay can be reduced in line with that of other public sector employees. It very much echoes public feeling, which the Minister has caught, and it is good that we will put this to a vote of the people. I wholeheartedly agree it is imperative to ensure that no echelon of the public sector or Irish society is immune from contributing to the betterment of the public finances. I hope a similar principle of fairness and proportionality is adopted by other Departments in their considerations for the budgets for 2012 to 2016.

Like the Minister, I commend the recently appointed Chief Justice, Susan Denham, on her decision to forego the €38,000 pay rise she is entitled to as Chief Justice until the issue of judges’ pay has been resolved. Nevertheless, I echo the concerns of a number of leading academics, practitioners and the Judiciary itself with respect to the implications of the proposed amendment as formulated on judicial independence, which forms part of the bedrock of the doctrine of separation of powers in Ireland. In its recent response to the Bill, the Judiciary maintained it is not opposed to the holding of a referendum on judges’ pay but rather with how the salary reduction should be achieved with the least interference with the principle of judicial independence. Presuming, and with no doubt about, the sincerity of this contention I ask the Minister to explain why the Bill does not incorporate a safeguard whereby a decision regarding judicial remuneration and a reduction in judicial pay is taken at least on the advice of an independent body.

In light of the debate raised about judicial independence, I also ask the Minister whether he intends to move on his previous commitment to review the system of judicial appointments.

These are the two questions I would like to put to the Minister. I will support the Bill but I ask that the Minister addresses my questions.

Posted on

Reporting of Lobbying in Criminal Legal Cases Bill 2011- Second Stage

21st September 2011

I am sorry I could not be here earlier, but I wish to support this Bill. It is a welcome initiative and I commend Senator Crown on bringing it forward. Having followed the discussion, I agree that elements of the Bill should be examined on Committee Stage, particularly concerning communications with the Judiciary, the Garda Síochána and the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Bill’s principle is that when and where they are made, communications should be transparent and publicly available. It is an important principle that warrants a statutory footing. This is a question of making parliamentarians, such as ourselves, accountable for the representations they make.

I strongly support the Bill although I hear people saying that while they accept it, it should be put aside for the time being. We should pass it on this Stage. We will have plenty of opportunity to make amendments, as appropriate, to ensure that we make ourselves accountable and act transparently, which is the intention of the Bill. I wish to support it.

Posted on

Innovation at the Heart of the Jobs Challenge – Statements

14th September 2011

I thank the Minister for joining us today. He might be wondering what I, as a children’s rights advocate, have to say about jobs. For more than 15 years I worked for a small and medium-sized enterprise, through the good times and bad times. As I dealt with making staff redundant and dealt with transfer of undertakings to a UK entity, I understand the sleepless nights that people are going through. I very much welcome the commitments the Minister made today about driving down costs for businesses, increasing the access to credit and the need for regulatory reform. I also appreciate his understanding of the situation for young people because according to the National Youth Council of Ireland, Ireland has the second highest rate of youth unemployment in western Europe, with one in three young men unemployed, which represents a trebling of the figure since 2008.

Senator Cummins asked us to keep our comments for today short. I have one question and one proposal for the Minister. My question is very topical as it relates to the junior certificate examination results. I know there has been a focus on mathematics, and in doing so I take the opportunity to congratulate my nephew who got an A in his honours mathematics paper and who single-handedly may have contributed to the upward trend. However, people have not focused on foreign languages. Some 12% failed ordinary level French, 8% failed ordinary level Spanish and 7.5% failed ordinary level German. Poor foreign language capacity will hinder job creation, especially in the emerging export-led markets and with the changing demand for the global economy, the focus having shifted towards Asia and the consequent need for graduates with, for example, Mandarin. Only one secondary school in Ireland teaches Mandarin as a foreign language subject. I ask the Minister to clarify the role he will play regarding education and whether we will actually join the dots.

I was very encouraged by what the Minister had to say about us needing to add to our exports and we need to put a foot on that export ladder. In preparation for today’s debate I talked to representatives of a number of companies and I will now make what I believe to be an innovative proposal. I will give credit for this to a home-grown entrepreneur, Colm Lyons, of Realex Payments. Irish businesses need to get established in overseas markets, which can sometimes be achieved online, but more often it requires staff to relocate to set up offices. This can often take from 18 to 36 months. During this time local staff are typically recruiting others to train, after which they go back to the head office. Realex has asked several staff to move and while some have moved, many are concerned about the general state of things here and want to remain in their job in Ireland. The proposal is to have a scheme for Irish staff working abroad whereby if a staff member is assigned to grow the business in an overseas market, the company could accrue a bonus for the staff member that is paid tax free when the assignment is completed. It could be controlled, for example, by Enterprise Ireland, which would approve the company, the role and the individual against certain criteria. I believe this scheme would act as a great incentive for staff to be based abroad for a certain period of time and thus accelerate the growth of Irish businesses overseas. I ask the Minister to give the proposal serious consideration.

I conclude by going back to my children’s rights background. Research in the UK and US has found a negative impact of parental unemployment on children and young people. For example, young people living in a workless household are more likely to have poor educational outcomes, including increased incidence of truancy and early school leaving. Therefore I believe the Minister’s brief includes children’s rights and I will be doing what I can to support his work.

Posted on

Order of Business, 27 July 2011

27th July 2011

The point I wish to raise concerns the aforementioned Amnesty International report by Dr. Carole Holohan, which was informed and reviewed by an independent advisory group and commissioned by Amnesty International, namely, In Plain Sight, Responding to the Ferns, Ryan, Murphy and Cloyne Reports. At 430 pages, the report is of considerable length and obviously will take Members time to consider. It would be worth our time both to read it and to consider how best it could be debated in the House. The report acknowledges and understands what went wrong but also is working to ensure we establish a child protection system that is fit for purpose, lest we ever allow this to happen again. The “we” on which Amnesty International puts value is not simply about the church or the State but pertains to “we” as a society. In Plain Sight calls on us to acknowledge the extent to which the systematic abuse and exploitation of the tens of thousands of vulnerable Irish children in State and church run institutions was known across Irish society. The report does not purport to play the blame game. It moves beyond what has been to date a largely factual discourse about the who, what, where and when of the widespread and systematic abuse in question to a more philosophical and sociological analysis of why. To understand why it happened will help us to transform the present.

At the launch yesterday, Colm O’Gorman, executive director of Amnesty International, said:
But the focus cannot be purely on the past, as if this history has no relevance for our society now. We must consider the degree to which this history reveals vital truths about the nature of our society today. The past only becomes history once we have addressed it, learnt from it and made the changes necessary to ensure that we do not repeat mistakes and wrongdoings.

Another striking and vital feature of the report is the acknowledgement that the abuse survivors endured is not only morally repugnant, shocking beyond many people’s comprehension and patently illegal, but amounts to a grievous violation of their human rights. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Fitzgerald, launched the report yesterday and acknowledged the Government’s legislative agenda. This House needs to have a debate about that agenda. I also ask the Leader to call on the Minister to redouble her efforts to ensure the constitutional the amendment to strengthen children’s rights is held without delay, that we ensure the full implementation of the UN convention on the rights of the child in Ireland, study the report and use it to inform our policy on child protection.