Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I raise the objectionable tweet from the Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, in recent days in which he, in our name, gushed about Mike Pence, who apparently knows and understands the issues that affect our people. Why did the Taoiseach extend an invitation to Mike Pence to visit this island? The tweet went far beyond what was necessary in terms of diplomacy. He tweeted: "He certainly knows Ireland and the issues that matter to our people." That is an untruth. We were the first State in the world to properly endorse marriage equality, a powerful statement that reaffirmed the rights of LGBT citizens and redefined what it meant to be Irish. Those values of fairness and inclusion could not be more at odds with the extreme anti-LGBT prejudice that has been a hallmark of Mike Pence's career.He is an advocate for the repugnant and abusive practice of conversion therapy. He is on the record as calling for federal funding for this shameful practice. As recently as 2014, while serving as Governor of Indiana, he passed sweeping discriminatory legislation that would allow anybody to discriminate against LGBT people, citing religious belief. Mr. Pence's anti-LGBT views are so extreme that he passed a law in Indiana that would lead to the jailing of any same-sex couple who even attempted to apply for a marriage licence in that state. This is the dangerous and ugly reality of Mike Pence, and while we accept the result of the US presidential election and the incoming Administration, we must also be unequivocal in affirming our values of LGBT equality and inclusion. I ask the Leader to raise this issue with the Taoiseach and ask him to reaffirm his commitment to LGBT equality by progressing the rights of young transgender people and publicly supporting all-island marriage equality.