Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes, Deputy Collins raised this matter on Second Stage. As a layperson and non-lawyer, this was the first thing I wanted to do and it seemed to make perfect sense. I wondered why one would not want to do it. When we looked at it in much more detail from a legal perspective, I was told by much greater minds than mine that it was not so straightforward and there could be that unintended consequence.

I would certainly meet a representative group, members of the health committee or both between now and Report Stage. There is zero policy difference between the Deputies and me on this matter and I want to provide for it too, but I am told I cannot do so legally. Deputy Donnelly correctly said that the world has moved on considerably from what was definitely progressive legislation in 2005, but the world is a different and, in my view, better place in its understanding of these matters now, which indicates the broader work that must be done and that is being led by my colleague, the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, to review the Gender Recognition Act in its totality, which I know is under way.

Deputy Donnelly made a separate point about clarity. To return to our conversation earlier, there is nobody in this room or the Oireachtas who wishes to cause any confusion or lack of clarity for any doctor. We wanted to move beyond that and I will talk to Dr. Boylan in the context of the clinical guidelines. I fully take Deputy Donnelly's point but I hope it is not the law that doctors pick up but rather the clinical guidelines. I will ask Dr. Boylan whether this should be included in the clinical guidelines to be certain that this legislation relates to trans people. I fully accept that one would not want there to be any confusion in the medical community.

I will look at the explanatory memo. I do not know about other members of the committee but when many of us, myself included, read legislation, the first thing we tend to read is the explanatory memo to learn what the Bill is about and what it tries to achieve. That tends to be the accessible way of reading and understanding legislation. For all of us, and I am sure for the public at large, the explanatory memo is usually the first point of reference. I have just talked to officials here about possibly amending the explanatory memo between now and Report Stage because, as I said, we all want to do this and none of us wishes to do it in such a way that there would be an unintended consequence.