Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)

These statements are very welcome. I thank the Deputy who raised this from the floor because there had been no statements until this. The reason it is important is that it is very clear that despite the massive rights and wonderful gains that were won for LGBT+ people ten years ago and women in terms of repeal, we are in a different era now. We are in a different space It was very noticeable on Pride that fair-weather friend corporations had shrunk to a minuscule delegation following on from what has happened in the US where the tech "broligarchy" is embedded with Trump. The era of rainbow capitalism is gone and we are now seeing attacks on LGBT rights.

I will focus on trans rights because we are all agreed that trans, non-binary and intersex people are feeling the brunt of a massive and horrific onslaught. We have the demonisation of trans people. We need a secular sex education programme in our schools to challenge these ideas that are being unleashed on the Internet. BeLonGTo was mentioned. When I went back to teaching, I helped to organise a stand up week. This is done voluntarily by teachers in their own time. It is not a standing part of school. It must be made part of all schools to affirm the rights of all young people we teach and to challenge and educate people. I was at the launch of a trans pamphlet and we discussed this. There is an awful lot of ignorance out there and a lot of it is not the fault of people themselves. It has to be challenged.

I heard the Minister of State's speech, which was very genuine. There is no question about that so I am asking her to use her power to help trans young people in particular. Often when we are personally affected by something, we appreciate it even more. I also have a trans family member. She was denied a blood test by her GP. That is where we are now. How is it allowed in our health system that a human being goes to the GP and the GP will not do a blood test because she is using hormones? Part of the reason is the National Gender Service, which is not fit for purpose, as I think the Minister of State recognises. Its members are posing as specialists. As far as I know, they are endocrinologists who specialise in obesity - not in trans healthcare - but they are giving GPs the impression that one must be an expert and should not dare assist any young person who is using healthcare that has not been through their GP. We need to move to a GP-led service just like we did with abortion and every other aspect of healthcare. We do not need a big specialist monolith which people cannot access and must wait ten years. We need this to be done by every GP. It is not rocket science, to use that cliché. Hormones are provided by GPs all the time to young girls with precocious puberty and women in menopause so they are becoming far more familiar with it. It was very moving but I am asking the Minister of State to follow this up because young people have a right to healthcare and it is shameful that political parties are leaning into the far right talking points, including those in Great Britain where transphobia is the order of the day. There is no danger in young people accessing healthcare but there is a danger to their mental health if they do not access it.

It is almost as if the Cass report recommended a ban. It did not recommend a ban. People need to educate themselves and read up on this. There is no health benefit to what happened in Northern Ireland. It had no health justification; it was a political decision, and people need to change that decision to affirm the rights of young people.

I also want to mention recognition of non-binary and intersex people. When I worked in a hospital decades ago, we were coding diagnoses and I saw the diagnosis "ambiguous genitalia". I asked the nurse what happens there and she told me that surgery was done and the parents had to pick male or female. The only surgery being done on young people is that. It is being done in our hospitals because parents are forced to choose a binary. They are not allowed to have their baby - and 1.7% are born intersex - have any recognition. That has to change. I have seen it affect people's lives so much. I have been contacted by so many parents. Only this week, parents could not get their child into the school they wanted to go to because of their non-binary status. We have to recognise that. Trans healthcare is the priority.

I ask the Minister of State to back up the very emotional speech she made. I believe she is very genuine about it but please back it up by transferring the healthcare of trans young people to GPs. Take it out of the hands of consultants, challenge these wrong notions and educate people about them.

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