Over 600 sale of sex convictions to be expunged
Updated / Sunday, 25 Apr 2021
22:59
The initiative is aimed at those who have exited sex work but have previous convictions (file image)
Over 600 sale of sex offences will be expunged under a Government initiative to address the needs of victims of sex trafficking and those forced to provide sexual services.
The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, said today that officials in her Department will be drafting the necessary legislative amendments required.
It has not been an offence to sell sex in Ireland since 2017, when new legislation criminalising the purchaser of sex, rather than the seller, came into effect.
McAliskey mother and daughter in latest Rebel Matters podcast
independent.ie - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from independent.ie Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
International Women s Day: What women want: the Irish gender-equality to-do list for 2021
independent.ie - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from independent.ie Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
According to Phil Corcoran of the Sexual Health Centre in Cork (
sexualhealthcentre.com), a condom postal service launched in March 2020 was an initiative that saw a “huge” response.
“We do not have an indication of exactly what drove this demand but this is something for us to explore going forward,” he says.
Elsewhere, a spokesperson for
Nimhneach, the Dublin BDSM scene’s largest monthly club night, says that in terms of real-life meet-ups, there “isn’t anything going on”.
“Not only us, but every event in our space has stopped,” the spokesperson notes. “Virtual meet-ups don’t cut it. Nothing has been organised, as privacy concerns are more pressing online. There aren’t loads of folks turning up online, either. In fact, it’s quieter.”