Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State referred to what is in the best interests of the child. Both of our amendments are based on providing for what is in the best interests of the child. Amendment No. 25 makes it very clear that a court can only grant a gender recognition certificate to a person under the age of 16 if it is satisfied that it is in the best interests of the child. The parents will also have to consent before the court could even consider doing that. I do not understand how the Minister of State could possibly think that it is not in the best interests of child if, to take the example of a 15 year old, they know their true gender identity, their parents support them and want to have that recognised by the State and a judge could also be satisfied that this is in the young person's best interests. However, the Minister of State thinks that he or the Government knows better. He is talking about a blanket ban in that he said we need to protect all children.