Gardaí have questioned 38 people on suspicion of having bought sex from a person involved in prostitution.

An intelligence-led operation was conducted in urban and rural areas across the country this week as part of Operation Quest, which focuses on securing convictions against individuals involved in organising prostitution, brothel-keeping and associated offences including money laundering.

The operation took place from September 16-21, with gardaí targeting areas in Cork city, Kerry, Galway, Donegal, Kilkenny, Carlow and Dublin. The Days of Action were coordinated by the team at the Garda National Protective Services Bureau, in liaison with the local detective units.

Some 38 people were stopped and spoken to by gardaí over suspicion of having purchased sexual services from a person involved in prostitution. A number of files will now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The gardaí said the operation reinforces their commitment to target the demand for prostitution and to protect vulnerable persons, including victims of human trafficking involved in prostitution.

This is the second national operation targeting the demand for prostitution in 2019 and further operations are planned. In April, gardaí also questioned 36 people for allegedly paying for sex. Gardaí have faced criticism over the low number of prosecutions initiated since the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act came into force in 2017.

Kate McGrew, current sex worker and spokeswoman for the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland (SWAI) said that the actions will "decrease trust in gardaí for already marginalised sex workers".

She criticised the low number of prosecutions since the law came into effect: "In early 2020, there will be a review of the impact of the law so we are not surprised that there has been an increase in the questioning of those who seek the service of sex workers.

But we know from figures gleaned from Ugly Mugs, an app sex workers use to keep ourselves safe, that over the past two years the laws have seen sex workers being deported, arrested or forced to leave the country to avoid prosecution for working together for safety.

She said there has also been "a marked increase" in violent crimes against sex workers.

"All of this begs the question: who is truly being affected by the law, who are the vulnerable persons the Garda say they are protecting and who are we trying to keep safe?," she said.

Ms McGrew said that such days of action will not resolve the issues faced by sex workers in Ireland.

"We don’t know anything about the workers who were caught up in these actions. We don’t know if they were consenting workers or part of the minority of those who have been trafficked into Ireland for sex work," she said.

"These actions have not addressed the root causes of sex work, such as austerity, poverty, lack of childcare. These actions have not provided the supports on exiting sex work, should people want to exit, which were promised with the introduction of the law."