Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests. This is a very important issue facing our society. It would be most helpful if we could achieve as much unanimity as possible on how we should proceed. My party, Fianna Fáil, made a submission and attended the recent consultation day with the Department of Justice and Equality. We fully support the Turn Off The Red Light campaign. As the public will be watching this debate closely, it is important that we conduct our business in a timely fashion and try to progress this issue, as it has been dragging on for a number of years.

I am the lead questioner for our first group of guests representing the IMO. Part of our job will be to recommend penalties and sanctions in proposals emerging from the committee. What penalties would the delegates envisage or recommend in this area? Second, do they think imprisonment should be an option or what sanction should there be? Do they have any views on financial penalties? Do they have views on the issue arising in the United Kingdom, that is, strict liability?