Government to draft own legislation to ban sex for rent practices
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The Green Party chairman of the Oireachtas housing committee says he expects the Government will draft its own legislation to outlaw sex for rent to speed up the process of legislating against it.
Steven Matthews said there is an urgency to tackle the area, following an investigation into sex for rent in Ireland by the first published last December.
On Wednesday, the Ban on Sex for Rent Bill brought by the Social Democrats was supported by the government at second stage and it is now gone to committee stage.
However, there was criticism in the Dáil chamber on Wednesday that the government had not brought legislation to tackle the area because it would go through faster than a Private Members Bill.
The Departments of Justice and Housing have been considering advice from the Attorney General, Paul Gallagher, received in recent weeks. Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien sought the advice of the AG’s office in January.
Mr Matthews told the that the Private Members Bill brought by Cian O’Callaghan was a move in the right direction.
A fine of €50,000 and imprisonment for up to seven years are being proposed in the legislation. It seeks to criminalise the advertising of sex for rent offers, and the hosting of such advertisements by platforms.
But Mr Matthews said: “I would expect that the Government will bring forward legislative measures as well.”
He pointed out that it could be in the form of an amendment to existing legislation, or a new piece of legislation.
A spokesman for the Department of Justice said that Minister Helen McEntee has previously stated that she supports the introduction of criminal sanctions to address this unacceptable and exploitative behaviour and is examining the most suitable legislative means of achieving that.
In February, Ms McEntee told the Dáil that there is no legislation currently in place to deal with sex for rent propositions.
The spokesman added: “As the Minister is supportive of the principle of what the Ban on Sex for Rent 2022 Private Members Bill is seeking to achieve, Government agreed not to oppose it at second stage. There are however, difficulties with the approach proposed in this Bill that need to be addressed to ensure that it is legally sound and achieves its objectives and Minister McEntee will continue to work with Minister O’Brien and the Attorney General to address this issue in an effective and appropriate manner.”
Last week, the published a story about 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.
Foreign women have told the in recent weeks about being offered reduced or no rent in return for sex or bed-sharing with landlords in different parts of the country.
One of the properties unearthed by the n December was a house in Newcastle West, Limerick which would be shared with the landlord. He advertised a room in his house for a single lady “with a twist”. The ad said: “Can do reduced rent for occasional fun.” When contacted by a prospective tenant, the landlord made it clear that sexual activity was required on a weekly basis in return for rent of €200 for the first month and €250 per month thereafter.