NORTHERN Ireland's proposed ban on buying sex could drive prostitutes across the border, immigrant rights campaigners have warned. The Republic's government has been urged to implement a "quick response" to clause six of the DUP's Human Trafficking and Exploitation Bill, which was passed by assembly members during a late-night vote on Monday.
The clause outlaws the exchange of sexual services for cash.
The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICL) yesterday called on TDs to ensure that the Republic should not become a "soft target" for "traffickers, pimps and thugs".
ICI is among groups behind the Turn Off The Red Light campaign (TORL) which made a submission to the Stormont Justice Committee expressing its support Lord Morrow's anti-trafficking bill.
The council's chief executive Denise Charlton, pictured, welcomed the assembly's vote, describing it as a "historic decision". "The vote sends a direct message to organised crime that Northern Ireland is no longer open for business,'' she said. "However, there must now be genuine concerns that gangs which are losing out in the north will concentrate south of the border."
Ms Charlton said it was time for ministers and TDs in Leinster House to introduce similar laws for the Republic to prevent it becoming a "safe haven" for criminal gangs that seek to exploit vulnerable women and children.