Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Government has the power to make this change and it should not be found wanting. It must admit to its role in the higher than average rates of suicide, mental health and self-harm endured by LGBT people. It must acknowledge the thousands who have lost their lives as a consequences of the State's reluctance to legislate.

Sinn Féin supports LGBT equality. We call on the Government to eliminate legalised homophobic and transphobic discrimination against LGBT education and health care workers in the Twenty-six Counties by amending the 1937 Constitution to include express equality protections for LGBT citizens and equal treatment for all family forms. We urge the Government to set a date for a constitutional referendum on same-sex marriage. We are also calling for the inclusion of express equality protections for LGBT citizens and prohibitions on homophobic and transphobic discrimination in the forthcoming Bill of Rights for the North, and for progress on the Northern sexual orientation strategy, including legislation to provide for same-sex civil marriage.