Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This is an historic and happy day. I am delighted to have the opportunity to be here on this auspicious occasion as we bring the Gender Recognition Bill through the final legislative step prior to its enactment.

Senators will agree that we have all learned a huge amount over the past few years about the lived experience of transgender people in our communities. We have gained this insight as a result of meeting with transgender people, parents of transgender children and the organisations which represent them. I am deeply pleased that we are now in a position to make a meaningful and positive contribution to that lived experience by providing for formal legal recognition of the preferred gender of transgender people. The fact that the number of people who will be directly affected by the provisions of this legislation will be quite small is unimportant. What is important is the statement it sends out about our maturity as a people and a society, mirroring the positive message that was sent by people in Ireland through the recent marriage equality referendum. Regardless of how few people are directly affected, this legislation carries huge significance for each individual involved and for their families, friends and communities.

It is appropriate that I formally thank and congratulate my colleague at the Department of Social Protection, the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, who took on a huge amount of the work after I was appointed Tánaiste. He has invested a great amount of energy and commitment in bringing this Bill through this Chamber and through the Dáil. Before he addresses the specifics of the Bill, it is interesting to reflect briefly on the journey we have all taken in bringing this legislation onto the Statute Book.

The lack of legal recognition for transgender people is a long-standing issue. As far back as 2008, the High Court declared that the State was in breach of its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights in this regard. On the first day I addressed the Seanad about this legislation, I paid tribute to Dr. Lydia Foy and I do so again today. Dr. Foy has just joined us in the Visitors Gallery. I should say the distinguished Visitors Gallery, because the people who are here today are very distinguished by the campaigning they have done, particularly Dr. Foy.In our programme for Government, we included a commitment that transgender persons would be provided with legal recognition. In July 2011, I published the report of the gender recognition advisory group, GRAG. That report was an important step on the road but it is instructive how far we have come since then.

Following on a period of consultation, we published the general scheme of the gender recognition Bill in mid-2013. The general scheme was subjected to pre-legislative scrutiny by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection, which published its report in January 2014. I believe this was a positive process which added much to our knowledge of the issues involved.

Following the committee's report, I brought the matter back to Cabinet and the revised general scheme of the Bill was published in June of last year. The work of drafting the legislation was accelerated and prioritised, so we were then in a position to introduce the Bill in this Chamber in January of this year.

Some key aspects of the committee's report are reflected in the Bill before us - for instance, the use of the term "preferred gender" as well as provision for persons aged between 16 and 18. Other changes to the Bill have reflected the debates in both Houses since the start of the year. I was particularly pleased to be able to secure agreement at Cabinet on the most significant change of all - the introduction of a system of self-declaration.

The fundamental concept underlying this legislation, which is relatively simple and has remained so throughout this whole process, is that where a person has been issued with a gender recognition certificate by the Department of Social Protection, that person's preferred gender will be formally and legally recognised for all purposes, including dealings with the State, public bodies and civil and commercial society.

The legislation is long overdue. Getting to this point has been a difficult and challenging undertaking due to the complex and sensitive issues involved. I thank everyone who has contributed to the process. I thank my colleagues in the Labour Party, particularly Senators Moloney and Bacik. I thank those who campaigned on this issue, such as Senators Zappone and van Turnhout, and our colleagues in government in Fine Gael. I am conscious that right from the beginning the Independent Senators and Fianna Fáil were extremely supportive and it was a genuine example of Parliament, in particular this House, being used as a forum for a wide cross-party discussion in which we reached agreement in the best interests not only of the transgender community but of Irish society. It reflects a genuine commitment on the part of the Government to enabling transgender persons to be recognised for all purposes in their preferred gender.

I have to attend the Dáil shortly, because of the change of arrangements, so I will ask my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, to take over at this point.