Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I concur with Deputy Durkan on his remarks about hatred in particular. Unfortunately, we have seen too much of that, particularly in the recent past. I welcome the opportunity to discuss and debate the Government’s progress on supporting the LGBTQI+ community in Ireland. This debate is particularly timely during Pride month. I look forward along with other Members of this House to joining members of the LGBTQI+ community again at the annual Pride march this Saturday. This has been a challenging year for members of that community. I express my revulsion at the brutal murders of members of the community in Sligo and offer my condolences to their family and friends. Equally, we must remember people who have been attacked on the basis of their sexual orientation, particularly in this city and elsewhere throughout the country. There should be no place for intolerance in Ireland.

The programme for Government commits to a series of reforms to create a fairer, safer and inclusive Ireland where people are supported to flourish and live inclusive, healthy and fulfilling lives whatever their sexual orientation or gender. Ireland’s first national LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy 2019-2022 is the primary policy vehicle to achieve this vision. It pursues objectives under four thematic pillars, providing a vision of an Ireland where LGBTI+ people are visible, included, treated equally, healthy, and feel safe and supported. It notes that many of the issues that prevent LGBTI+ people from achieving their full potential in Irish society are structural in nature and require a whole-of-government approach to devising appropriate solutions. The strategy contains a number of actions by An Garda Síochána to deepen LGBTQI+ awareness among front-line officers in order to better respond to the needs of victims of hate crime and the needs of the community in general. I commend the work of An Garda Síochána. Long before marriage equality, over many decades, gardaí have worked with members of that community hand in hand to ensure they felt safe and were safe in certain areas, particularly in this city, at a time when it was not safe to be a member of that community.

Justice Plan 2022 commits to publishing the criminal justice (hate crime) Bill 2021 this summer. Strengthening our criminal legislation will be one element in a wider suite of measures across all areas of government designed to address hatred and intolerance in all its forms. The Bill will create new, aggravated forms of certain existing criminal offences, where those offences are motivated by prejudice against a protected characteristic. The protected characteristics identified in the general scheme are race, colour, nationality, religion, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, gender and disability. A review of the equality Acts is under way and legislative proposals are expected by the end of the year. A new strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is expected soon and recognises the need to provide support for all victims and survivors of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, irrespective of any characteristics they might have. It recognises the need to reflect the lived experience, particularly of victims and survivors, including LGBTI+, and acknowledges the additional risk factors created by overlapping forms of discrimination.

My party, Fianna Fáil, wants to create a Republic founded on equality, dignity and opportunity for every citizen. Fighting discrimination in all its forms is one of the party’s core aims. We have committed to working for a fair and equal society for members of the LGBTQI+ community.

The programme for Government contains a series of important commitments to support members of the community, including the implementation of a national youth strategy for the LGBTI+ community; a ban on conversion therapy; legislation to provide for adoptive leave; legislation to ban conversion therapy and the creation of a general health policy for transgender individuals. We have seen progress on many of these areas but support for trans healthcare is badly lacking and I would welcome an update from the Minister in his closing remarks. I would also like to see increased funding to support mental health services as part of the youth strategy. It is clear listening to the debate today that, unfortunately, homophobia still exists in Ireland despite all the progress that has been made for members of the community. As a society we must value every citizen and resident of the Republic. The ethos must be one of tolerance and inclusivity.

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