Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I fully hear what the Deputy is saying. His feedback is important to me, as is everyone's. I did not congratulate him on his new position as Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Health. I look forward to working with him on this and many other issues. We have a similar approach to these issues.

It is important to recognise that demand for transgender healthcare services has increased and I acknowledge that the current public services are not meeting people's full range of needs. For that reason, the HSE is developing the new model of care for gender healthcare services. The Deputy is right to identify that it is not a mental health condition. Of course, it is not. What absolutely is the case is that a multidisciplinary approach, including endocrinology, psychology, appropriate counselling, psychiatry if and as needed and the support of social workers if required, offers the best pathway of support and that is certainly the approach I hope the model of care will lead towards.

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