Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate Senator Warfield on introducing the Bill. I was delighted to meet members of TENI yesterday and get the proper lowdown on all of the Senator's hard work. Fianna Fáil supports the Bill, the purpose of which is to amend the Gender Recognition Act 2015 to provide a right to self-determination for persons who reach the age of 16 years, to introduce a right to legal gender recognition for persons under 16 years of age, and to ensure consideration of the status of non-binary persons in Irish law, as has been outlined.

While the Gender Recognition Act 2015 was a watershed moment in Ireland, it nevertheless fell short in that it contains particularly onerous procedures for people aged 16 and 17 to be legally recognised. Furthermore, it made no provision at all for those aged under 16 years, as if trans people under the age of 16 are invisible and do not exist. This can cause a number of practical day-to-day difficulties for young people, such as travelling with their passports and opening bank accounts. I concur with Senator Norris on the onerous condition of having to get a medical report to apply for a gender certificate. Some of the young people I spoke to yesterday told me this stipulation in the Act forces the hand of young people, who perhaps do not want go through medical conversion at that time and just want their gender to be recognised on paper. Perhaps later in life they would be more prepared to do so. They told me this part of the Act was a very regressive step, so I am glad the Bill has been introduced to make it a little more progressive.

Absent legal recognition for children in the gender in which they identify, and being forced to live and be identified in the wrong gender can make everyday life fraught with the potential for humiliation and embarrassment, driving many into the shadows and making them vulnerable to exclusion and depression, notwithstanding the requirement to get a legal certificate. Research in 2013 by TENI revealed 78% of Irish trans people surveyed had contemplated suicide and 40% had attempted it. The level of self-harm is also notably high at 44%. The research also found 83% of trans people avoid public spaces for fear of being harassed. In addition, and of particular importance when discussing the Bill, the survey showed self-harm and attempted suicide rates plummeted when people were able to transition to their true gender, which is very welcome.The rationale for Fianna Fáil supporting the Bill is that, in 2013, the Office of the Ombudsman for Children, in its advice on the general scheme of the Gender Recognition Bill, noted that it understood the motivation for excluding children to safeguard them from the potentially negative consequences of having their preferred gender recognised when they have not formed a stable view in relation to their gender identity. However, it argued that this must be weighed against the difficulties faced by young people who have gone, or are going, through transition. The advice stated that these concerns are not hypothetical; that they are real and substantial, and that it seems untenable to argue that in order to close off the possibility of granting legal recognition to young people who have not formed a stable view regarding their gender identity, all young people should be denied the opportunity of legal recognition, irrespective of their individual circumstances. The office therefore recommended that the Gender Recognition Bill should make provision for children and young people by removing the criterion relating to minimum age. It argues that refusing to include children represented a disproportionate interference with young people's rights to gender recognition.

In addition, it is essential that our legislation aligns itself with Ireland's international human rights obligations in regard to children. The Office of the Ombudsman for Children also underscores that the UN convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified by Ireland in September 1992. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child does not explicitly address the situation of transgender or intersex young people. However, Article 2 of the convention requires states to respect the rights set out in the convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind. The prohibitive grounds of discrimination contained in the convention include race, colour, sex, birth, or other status. Although gender identity is not included in this list, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has clarified that transgender young people are protected by Article 2. Gender identity can, therefore, be taken to constitute a form of other status within the meaning of the non-discrimination provisions of the convention.

Ireland has been considered very progressive along the lines of countries such as Argentina, Malta, Norway and Denmark in legislating for a self-declaration model for those aged over 18. The passing of the Gender Recognition (Amendment) Bill 2017 would be another step forward in creating a more equal and inclusive society in Ireland. I congratulate Senator Warfield on introducing it and I look forward to its passage through the Houses of the Oireachtas.