Calling for an early debate on the advertising of sex chat lines in Irish newspapers, Mrs Therese Ridge, Fine Gael spokeswoman on family and community affairs, said they were salacious, disgraceful, anti-family, anti-women and anti-children.
This so-called service was widely advertised in daily and Sunday newspapers in this country, she complained. This was a matter of concern for families, particularly those with pre-teen children. "We could coin a new phrase, aural sex," she said.
These lines cost up to £1.58 a minute, but the print in the newspaper advertisements was often illegible where the charges were mentioned. Newspaper proprietors should not carry such ads.
Government leader, Mr Donie Cassidy, said he agreed fully with Mrs Ridge's re quest. She could raise the matter further in a forthcoming debate on legislation to deal with child pornography.
