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 thank the Minister for the reply on the amendments. It is important that we do keep it under review. It is new legislation and it will be important to see how it plays out in respect of reports on the issue and people who come forward with any potential cases. It will be important to see how robust the legislation is. I am happy to withdraw the amendments at this stage.
I appreciate that the Minister has been collaborative on this issue. When I introduced my own legislation - I think in April of last year - the intention was to be proactive and to come up with a solution. I appreciate that the Minister has taken that on board and within 18 months has come up with a proposal in that regard. It will be impactful, hopefully coming up to the new college year, to have this in place and to emphasise that there is this statutory provision and it should act as a deterrent. There needs to be public awareness around the issue and that this is going to be a new law. Interestingly, this morning at the Oireachtas committee on further and higher education, we were discussing matters in relation to sexual harassment and violence and particularly in relation to students. We had a number of different groups in and they talked about the issue of sex for rent and how prevalent it is, particularly for international students, migrants and those who are vulnerable. Again, it is really important that we have this provision in place. I do welcome it. Obviously there are further Stages to come on the Bill itself but it is a step forward in this area. It is important that the commitment is upheld to keep it under review. It is new legislation and we need to see how it plays out. Ultimately, we need to ensure that it is protecting those who are most vulnerable, particularly women, migrants, those whose first language might not be English and those who are living in poverty. As we need to ensure it is working for them, a review of it will be needed. I thank the Minister for his collaboration, openness and proactivity in relation this area.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-25/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-25