Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-25
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Laura Harmon (LAB), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I move amendment No. 28:
In page 35, line 31, to delete “in lieu of payment” and substitute “in lieu of, or in exchange for a reduction in, payment”.
I intend to move all these amendments and propose to discuss them together. Amendments Nos. 28 to 31, inclusive, are very straightforward amendments in relation to the element of this Bill that would provide the statutory provision on the issue of sex for rent, which needs to be outlawed. From the outset, we really welcome this provision and the first Bill I brought through as a Senator was on this Bill. I am really pleased the Minister has taken it on. He is the first Minister who has taken this issue on because a number of Ministers have made promises to deal with the issue and it was not dealt with. This is a huge step forward and should be broadly welcomed.
Amendments Nos. 28, 30 and 31 are all related and what they seek to do is ensure that when we are talking about the issue of sex for rent, as it is so called, what is inserted in the Bill also includes reductions in payment. We are talking about sex in lieu of or in exchange for a reduction in payment, so it takes into account any proposals related to an exchange for sex for full or partial payment of rent. Those three amendments relate to that. This is a very sensible proposal we hope could be accepted by the Minister.
Amendment No. 29 seeks to close what we see as a potential loophole in the legislation. We feel that potentially, the Bill could risk leaving out sitting tenants and licensees who have existing tenancies and could just apply to future tenancies. It is important this legislation covers existing tenancies of all sorts as well as any future tenancies. As there could be people who are already in these situations and need to have this protection under the law, again this is a very sensible amendment. I have tabled those four amendments together, which we believe would strengthen this legislation.
Again, I commend the Minister on addressing this issue. Having it set out in legislation will create a deterrent and awareness that this is an offence and needs to be stamped out because it is something that has significant prevalence in society. We know from reports and surveys that have been done by the Irish Council for International Students and the National Women's Council that this is a prevalent issue. There has been extensive coverage on this issue from journalist Ann Murphy in the Irish Examiner in Cork. We welcome the provision but hope the Minister can consider these amendments.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-25