Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on issues that affect members of our LGBTQI+ community. I take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy Pride week and month. I hope everyone has a great time in the spirit of equality and inclusiveness.

Ireland is considered to be a champion in advancing equality for the LGBTQI+ community. In 2015, through a constitutional referendum, we became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage with the introduction of the marriage equality Act. I remember the emotional scenes when the referendum was passed and the sense of momentous change. How that affected family and friends of mine is something that will stay with me for a long time.

This is also the 40th anniversary of the first Pride march in Dublin, which took place in 1983, just a few months after the killing of Declan Flynn. It was a march against a culture of endemic violence against women and gay men. The march took place against a backdrop where a persecuted community was told that a gay man's life had no value in the eyes of the law. I send my solidarity to the family and friends of Declan Flynn and to all people who have been impacted by this "anti" culture.

This coming Saturday, 24 June, will mark the 30th anniversary of the State officially decriminalising homosexuality. My colleague, Senator Warfield, has called on the Government to honour its commitment to disregard the criminal records of gay men who were convicted of historic offences prior to the decriminalisation of homosexuality. We are calling for a clear timeline to be set out for the introduction of this legislation and a scheme that would disregard these historical convictions.

In my role as mental health spokesperson for my party, I have met with LGBTQI+ groups. They have informed me that members of their community have disproportionate amounts of mental health difficulties and suicidality, by comparison with the general population. All of the research says they have had difficulties accessing not just mental health services but health services in general in this State and also internationally. This State is in the grip of a mental health crisis and there are significant gaps in services. Where there are gaps, vulnerable people fall through them. Mental healthcare workers should be provided with training and support to best meet the specific needs of LGBTQI+ people.

We as a society have come a long way towards being more inclusive to our friends and family in this community, but we still have a long way to go. Recent research reveals that 87% of the LGBTQI+ community and young people have seen or experienced harassment online. We have increasingly seen this pattern of online hate translate to real-world violence against members of the LGBTQI+ community. We need to call out this prejudice and hate. We need to call out far-right agitators at every opportunity. This has no place in a modern Ireland.

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