At the time of going to press, all the appearances are that the story concerning the involvement of what the media are describing as a senior Coalition politician with ‘rent boys’ is about to be told. Hot Press has been aware of the facts of the case for some time. However, before the inevitable clamour for any individual’s resignation becomes too deafening, there are a few points worth considering carefully. The first is that it is not long since the entire media establishment became aware of the fact that two well-known members of Fine Gael had been identified by Gardai, frequenting a massage parlour in Dublin, which was later closed down as a brothel. There were no calls for the individuals involved to come forward, to make statements or to resign from their seats. Are we now to see someone treated differently because the services of male rather than female prostitutes, or sex workers, seems to be involved? And will Fine Gael and its leadership join in the process of extracting political advantage from the situation without offering its own members to the wolves?

This would be doubly ironic. Precisely because homosexuality was criminalised in Ireland until 1993, gay men were forced to pursue their sexual interests in covert and unconventional ways. Where an individual was married, this need to preserve the secrecy of any homosexual orientation was even more acute. And thus, many men found that they could only express their sexual interest in members of the same sex in anonymous encounters, in the context of which money would frequently change hands. Whatever happens or happened in the Phoenix Park has to be seen in that context.

Besides, we are still utterly hypocritical on the issue of prostitution. Maybe this kind of incident will shock people into an awareness of the sheer craziness of legislating on an issue of private sexual morality of this kind. Who knows what powerful human needs drive people to share the sex act with a stranger, and in a way that is free of the emotional complications that attend most sexual relationships? And why do we assume that a Garda or a District Justice or even the Minister for Justice herself can stand in judgement? Any consenting sexual act between adults should be free of any taint of criminality – it is as simple as that. And if we want to minimise the risk of vulnerable people of either sex being put into a position where they feel the need to sell their sexual favours to keep body and soul together, then let us spend the money that is currently wasted on policing on providing houses for homeless teenagers, to begin with.

The phrase ‘rent boys’ is currently being thrown about somewhat indiscriminately. The reality is that if someone is seventeen or over, then they have reached the age of consent. If anyone under that age is involved, then the issue becomes considerably murkier – but so far there is no real evidence that any sexual encounter of any kind took place.

Unless there is some startling new evidence, relating to the involvement of minors, I’d suggest that people climb down off their moral high horses. Ultimately we should get the absurd legislation which makes prostitution illegal off the statute books. But in the meantime, the crucial imperative is to provide houses, shelter and adequate welfare support for those in need. That is the real moral issue here.