Vol. 508 No. 2
21 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Health and Children the research, if any, his Department has conducted into the problem of child prostitution; the measures, if any, he is taking to address the problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18317/99]
My Department has not commissioned any research to date into this issue. However, a number of health boards have carried out studies as follows.
The Eastern Health Board established a working party on child prostitution which reported in 1997 The Mid-Western Health Board published a report entitled, Prostitution in the Mid-Western Health Board Region, in 1998. In the case of the North-Eastern Health Board, while the board has not carried out any empirical research, it has developed a programme entitled, Youth Initiative
Partnership, to respond to the needs of children who are being sexually abused, including those involved in prostitution.
Child prostitution is primarily a child protection issue and all health boards are conscious of the need to target services at children who are at risk of becoming involved in prostitution.
A very significant finding from the survey carried out by the working party on child prostitution in the Eastern Health Board was that more than 80 per cent of children identified as having an involvement in child prostitution either had experienced, or were experiencing, homelessness. In this regard, I am putting significant additional resources into addressing the issue of homelessness particularly in the Eastern Health Board region where the problem is most acute. In addition, a national strategy on youth homelessness is being prepared and a forum on youth homelessness has been established in the Eastern Health Board region.
