New laws will be published today which will criminalise the purchase of sexual services.

The Sexual Offences Bill is being put forward by the Justice Minister and covers a wide range of areas including child pornograhy and online grooming.

It's not expected to decriminalise prostitution.

Minister Frances Fitzgerald spoke to Newstalk Breakfast this morning and she stated there'll also be tougher sentencing for some crimes: "We are talking about much tougher sentencing, ten to 14 years for some of these offences.

"We're looking at the huge international problem of trafficking of young girls and women for the purposes of sexual exploitation across Europe and indeed across the world."

You can listen to her interview here: