Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) | Oireachtas source

The confusion I see in this regard is the confusion of the person, of the child aged eight, nine, 11 or 13 etc. who feels he or she is in a different body. This causes more problems for them in the long run. I believe that the provision of an interim gender recognition certificate would give that person a feeling that he or she is on the right road and heading in the right direction and that at age 18 they can get a full gender recognition certificate.

People dealing with youth groups say and we hear Ministers say that children should have a voice and a say in their future, in legal and all other areas, but we have not recognised that transgender children are not recognised by the State. That is wrong. I understand we are not going to go further on this in this Bill and that the position will remain as it is. However, will the Minister of State give a commitment to a cross-Department approach to the issue, between the Departments of Education and Skills, Children and Youth Affairs and Social Protection, to try to move forward on this issue quickly in regard to the education protocols and so on that are to be put in place? Will he agree that we should be looking at something like that within three or six months time?