Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is my pleasure to state Fianna Fáil supports the principle and concept of introducing a gender recognition Bill. The Bill will allow each person to identify in the gender he or she feels internally, which may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth. In 2008 the High Court ruled the Irish State was in breach of its obligations under the European Convention of Human Rights because it did not have a mechanism to recognise legally the preferred gender of transgender individuals. In response to this, the then Minister for Social Protection established the Gender Recognition Advisory Group in 2010.
We need to discuss a number of issues, the first of which is more obvious and easier to deal with than the others, which should be discussed more in order that people in Ireland come to terms with and understand what is involved. It was the former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, who asked me three years ago to get involved and help transgender people. My mind was blown by what I learned from them. Transgender people are required to divorce before their preferred gender will be recognised. A man in a heterosexual couple I met had changed his gender to female and the couple was heartbroken because they wanted to stay together and did not want to have to divorce. They had a 16 year old daughter. I thought it was a no-brainer. Why did they have to divorce? The Bill must seriously address this human rights issue, which affects many people sitting in the Gallery, that transgender people must divorce before having their gender recognised. In effect they must become single.
The provision that a statement must be obtained from a primary treating medical practitioner is misguided and damaging because it relies on an obsolete conception of the nature of transgender identity and serves to pathologise the identity of transgender people. The Department of Social Protection has received letters from transgender health experts worldwide stating unanimously that legal gender recognition is a human right and should have nothing to do with medical care pathways.
Speaking before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children in July 2013, Dr. Philip Crowley, the HSE's national director for quality and patient safety stated:

The HSE endorses a gender recognition process which places the responsibility for self-declaration on the applicant rather than on the details of a medical certificate or diagnosis. In doing so the emphasis is placed on the process of legal recognition of that self-declaration as opposed to the legal recognition of the medical certificate and/or diagnosis. The HSE considers this process to be simpler, fairer, pragmatic and may be easier to legislate for as it takes account of both transgender and intersex people with differing backgrounds and contexts.

Another issue is the availability of recognition for those under the age of 16 and the disproportionately onerous requirements to be fulfilled by young people aged 16 and 17. Today we heard the story of Sam, thanks to the courtesy of Senator Katherine Zappone. Sam is an outstanding young person, and we also heard his mother's story. It broke my heart to hear it.

Being a teenager is bad enough, but I cannot bear to think how painful it must be to be conscious that one's gender may not be what it was at birth, having to go with the flow and having to hide what one really is. I was perfectly happy until I was 17 years of age, and after that I was very unhappy for a number of years. It is hard enough to come to terms with life and to establish one's own identity without having to deal with this other issue.

I thank Senator Zappone, TENi and Broden Giambrone, who was a magnificent advocate. I have met amazing people who have inspired me and given me heart. The transgender people have had the courage to come out and say to society that they exist and that they want to be fully recognised in Irish society. Fair play to them.