Farmers, office workers and business owners are among 100 men being actively investigated over paying for sex since new laws came into force two years ago.
The cases are at various stages, and files on approximately 20 suspected sex buyers have been submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions, a senior garda has revealed. Four men have now been convicted of the offence in Dublin, Meath and Cork, since a controversial new law criminalising the purchase of sexual services and decriminalising sex workers came into force in 2017.
Gardai were criticised for the low enforcement of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act, with the first conviction secured in January.
Speaking after the second national "day of action" targeting sex buyers last week, Chief Superintendent Declan Daly, who heads the Garda's Protective Services Unit, said the new law represented a total reversal of the approach to investigating the sex trade.
The criminal focus is on those demanding sexual services with a welfare focus on those working in prostitution.
"These joint days of action send a message to the people who are working in the industry that we hear their voice. We are here to assist and to help and protect them," he said.
"And for those who are engaged in the purchasing act, the message to them is to say look, we are conscious of what's happening and we are going to enforce the legislation, and if you are arrested you could have to go to court, your name could be printed in the paper. You could be fined, whatever the court decides."
Chief Supt Daly said the 100 cases involved men from all backgrounds and ages.
"We have had people across the board, from office workers to farmers to business people. There has not been one stereotypical type of person, there is a very broad spectrum of people in society looking for sexual society," he said.
"The important message is for those people who are purchasing sex or intending to purchase sex, they need to realise one simple fact: while there are many reasons why a person needs to engage in selling sexual services, a lot of times the reason is exploitation.
"I think when they pick up the phone and are looking online and making the arrangements to obtain these services that they bear in mind the person they will ultimately engage with could be a sexually exploited person."
Thirty eight men were questioned by gardai over the course of last week in Dublin, Kilkenny, Carlow, Cork city, Kerry, Galway and Donegal, in both rural and urban areas.
The men were stopped by detectives on suspicion of purchasing sexual services, in an intelligence-led operation.
It was the second national operation this year, and Chief Supt Daly said others would follow.
Under the new law, offenders face a maximum fine of €1,000 or up to five years in prison if the sex worker has been trafficked.
The legislation is based on the "Nordic Model" of legislating sex work by criminalising the buying of sex, while decriminalising individuals who sell sex.
