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Irish Examiner
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Woman who was offered sex-for-rent arrangements hopes new legislation will bring justice
A woman who was offered sex-for-rent arrangements after moving to Dublin says she hopes that new legislation will prevent other women having to go through what she did. Under the General Scheme of Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025 brought to the Cabinet by minister for justice Jim O'Callaghan, it will be an offence to offer accommodation in exchange for sex, and to advertise accommodation in exchange for sex. A fine of up to €5,000 will be the penalty for those convicted. The legislation will cover rental arrangements between landlords and tenants, as well as 'rent-a-room' situations. The move has been welcomed by an Italian woman who previously told the Irish Examiner that trying to find a place to rent in Dublin was like 'falling into a dangerous hell.' In one incident, the prospective landlord told her he wanted photos of her and her future housemates before giving them an appointment to view the property. He also said he only wanted females to move in and was 'looking for fun to cover rent'. Another advertiser told her he wanted someone who would share a bed with him in a property he was hoping to secure, because he wanted to halve the rent for the room. When she refused the offer, he texted her to ask if she would like to be his girlfriend. The third advertiser replied to her query telling her that a room and himself 'came together' for €200 per month. The woman, who does not want to be named, said: 'I hope all the expats coming to Dublin won't go again through the nightmare that me and other girls went through, being able to feel safe and comfortable to find a house in the country they will be working. And I really hope that people taking advantage of this situation will be sanctioned in the right way, finally having justice.' Last year, a report published by the National Women's Council called for legislation to tackle the issue as an offence outside of prostitution laws, as such an approach had earlier been mooted. Ivanna Youtchak, who is the council's violence against women co-ordinator, said: 'Sex-for-rent exploitation forces vulnerable women in precarious housing situations to choose between sexual exploitation and homelessness. The impact that this has on women cannot be overstated, making the very place they should feel safest – their home – a place of sexual exploitation. "In line with the commitments in the 2025 Programme for Government, clear steps to end the exploitation of women affected by sex-for-rent exploitation are crucial.' She said the council also wants to see an extension of legal tenancy protections to all renters, including licensees under the Residential Tenancy Act. She added: 'Ultimately, we will only end this sexual exploitation by successfully tackling the housing crisis and ensuring safe, quality housing and accommodation is available for everyone who needs it.' Labour senator Laura Harmon brought a bill before the Seanad last month to also outlaw sex for rent. She said she met with Mr O'Callaghan on Tuesday to discuss the new legislation. She said: 'The government's support to act on this is welcome and is a result of the robust discussion we had on my bill last month and pressure from civil society organisations. I will continue to work with the minister on this and I will work cross-party to get legislation passed.'' Read More International student planning to study in Munster university offered sex-for-rent arrangement
Irish Daily Mirror
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Daily Mirror
Cabinet to discuss criminalising sex for rent and counselling notes in trials
Offering accommodation in exchange for sex will become a criminal offence under plans to be discussed by Cabinet this Tuesday afternoon. It follows a commitment in the Programme for Government to criminalise those who seek sex for rent. Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan will inform Cabinet of plans to address what has been branded as "highly exploitative behaviour by the introduction of two specific criminal offences". This includes offering accommodation in exchange for sex and the advertising of accommodation in exchange for sex. The provisions encompass both tenancies and licence arrangements. The proposed penalty is a class A fine. This carries a maximum penalty of €5,000. It is hoped that this will provide "increased protections for vulnerable individuals," as well as a potential deterrent to landlords or property owners currently engaging in such behaviour. The General Scheme of Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025 will also address the use of counselling records in sexual offence trials. Victims have campaigned for this to be banned. However, the proposed changes from Mr O'Callaghan do not go this far. Cabinet will hear that laws that allow counselling notes to be used were "designed to strike a balance between two competing rights", including the victim's right to personal privacy and the accused person's right to a fair trial. Mr O'Callaghan will argue that it has become evident that the section is not operating as intended and that victims feel pressure to waive their right to a disclosure hearing. Under the new plans, a judicial examination of the counselling records and a subsequent disclosure hearing will automatically take place wherever the accused seeks such records. The change also seeks to "limit" the occasions when counselling notes can be used, stating they can only be disclosed when there is "a real risk of an unfair trial". Taoiseach Micheál Martin, meanwhile, will bring the latest report from the National Economic and Social Council, the body tasked with providing him with strategic policy advice. The report is 'Deepening Compact Growth in Ireland'. The report recommended reviewing development incentives "with a view to providing stronger incentives for brownfield development" and "increasing public investment to unlock land suited for compact growth". It also calls for more flexible rent controls to support increased supply, as well as urging the Government to continue to seek reductions in the construction costs of apartments as well as houses and increasing investment in cost-rental homes. Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Mary Butler, the Minister for Mental Health, meanwhile, will inform Cabinet that the suicide rate has reduced by a quarter and is now the 11th lowest in the EU, according to the most recent official figures. Preliminary figures for 2023 record 302 deaths, the lowest preliminary figure for over 20 years. Between 2000 and 2021, Ireland saw a 28 per cent reduction in the suicide rate, falling from 12.9 per 100,000 in 2000 to 9.2 per 100,000 in 2021. Cabinet will also be advised that previous self-harm remains the biggest risk factor for suicide, and that National Suicide Research Foundation Self-Harm Registry data highlights that between 2010 and 2023, self-harm rates decreased by 12 per cent. A strategy to further reduce self-harm and suicide will be completed by the end of the year. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers will bring the Annual Programme Report (APR) to Cabinet, which has replaced the annual Stability Programme Update. Tánaiste Simon Harris will update ministers on the latest developments on trade, including ongoing negotiations between the EU and US, as well as the "accelerated" ratification of the EU-Canada trade deal, known as CETA. The approach proposed would enable ratification not just of CETA but also of other EU-third country Investment Protection Agreements with similar models of investor-State arbitration schemes, such as Singapore and Chile. Higher Education Minister James Lawless will inform Cabinet of his intention to sign the European Quantum Pact, a joint declaration by EU science ministers recognising the transformative potential of quantum technologies for Europe's scientific, industrial, and strategic future.
Irish Examiner
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Legislation outlawing sex-for-rent included in bill to be examined by Cabinet today
A new bill seeking to outlaw sex-for-rent and tackling the universal use of counselling notes in sexual assault trials is being brought to the Cabinet for approval on Tuesday. The General Scheme of Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025 is being brought by the Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan. The bill has a number of different strands, and includes a provision for a new definition of 'DNA profile', which is expected to enable the use of more powerful identification techniques in cases involving missing and unidentified remains. Part 12 of the bill will address sex for rent and comes over three years after an investigation by the Irish Examiner led to demands for government action to outlaw the practice. Three bills have been introduced since by opposition parties, including one from Labour last month. Under the bill being brought to Cabinet today, it will be an offence to offer accommodation in exchange for sex, and to advertise accommodation in exchange for sex. A fine of up to €5,000 will be the penalty for those convicted. The legislation will cover rental arrangements between landlords and tenants, as well as 'rent-a-room' situations. Under the legislation, there will be no requirement to prove that sexual activity took place. Minister O'Callaghan said: 'I want to be clear that any attempt by accommodation providers to exploit their position and prey on vulnerable individuals through these arrangements is completely unacceptable. It is an appalling abuse of power, and it will not be tolerated." Counselling notes Meanwhile, the bill provides for a disclosure hearing to determine if counselling notes in sexual offence cases are relevant to the trial when an accused person seeks access to them. The legislation proposes that judges will be told to only allow the release of such records in cases where there would be a 'real risk' of an unfair trial without them. Last week, People Before Profit TD Ruth Coppinger brought a bill forward seeking to outlaw counselling notes being deployed by defendants in trials. In March, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Catherine Pierse, welcomed a Supreme Court ruling which, she said, rejected 'the notion that disclosure of counselling notes in sexual offence cases is required on the basis that the material is remotely or potentially relevant'. If the legislation is approved by the Cabinet, it will also broaden the definition of DNA in a bid to aid Forensic Science Ireland in the generation of DNA profiles particularly in cases where there are degraded samples from unidentified remains. It will follow a precedent set by the Institutional Burials Act 2022.
