Court action: Rachel Moran was distressed by the claims made online, her lawyer said. Photo: RTÉ

A judge has been asked by a former prostitute for orders preventing another ex-sex worker from publishing alleged defamatory statements that she never "worked" certain Dublin Streets.

Judge John O'Connor heard in the Circuit Civil Court that Rachel Moran, of School Lane, Baldoyle, Dublin 13, wanted to restrain Gaye Dalton, of Bow Street, Dublin 7, from posting further alleged defamatory statements about her on social media.

Barrister Andrew Walker, counsel for Ms Moran, yesterday said she had been left distressed after online allegations by Ms Dalton that she was "a fraud and a liar" by claiming she had been a sex worker, particularly on Dublin's Waterloo Road and Burlington Road.

Mr Walker told the court Ms Moran had written a memoir in 2013 titled 'Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution', which related details of her time working as a teenage prostitute on Waterloo Road and Burlington Road, Dublin 4, between 1991-1993.

Ms Moran appeared on RTÉ's 'Late Late Show' with Ryan Tubridy last year, during which she outlined her record of her prostitution and how she had got off the streets.

Mr Walker said that around this time, Ms Dalton had begun publishing defamatory blog posts online and a number of tweets in which she had unlawfully accused Ms Moran of scamming money along with harming sex workers for profit.

The court heard that in one tweet, Ms Dalton said: "She is a liar, a bitch and a bully and she was never even a sex worker."

Another had stated: "She makes a good living out of free travel and loads of attention out of bullying and persecuting sex workers and that is all she is capable of caring about. The fact that innocent women are seeing their lives destroyed by her isn't even on her radar."

Ms Dalton had also accused SPACE International, an organisation founded by Ms Moran in 2012, of being run by frauds who had been selling out the lives of sex workers.

Mr Walker said Ms Dalton had caused his client a great deal of upset.

Ms Dalton, who represented herself in court, told Judge O'Connor she had found it impossible to believe that Ms Moran had ever worked on Waterloo Road or Burlington Road on the dates specified.

Ms Dalton said that she had been "stationed" 15 yards away from where Ms Moran said she had been located. She said if Ms Moran had been there, she would have seen her.

Ms Dalton told Judge O'Connor she accepted that her allegation that Ms Moran had never worked in the sex industry had been wrong but she had not been able to admit that Ms Moran had, as she claimed, worked Waterloo Road and Burlington Road.

Mr Walker said Ms Moran was seeking an injunction restraining Ms Dalton from making or repeating her allegations. He said Ms Moran was not seeking damages.

Judge O'Connor reserved his judgment until next week at which time he would consider any further submissions either party wished to make.

Irish Independent