Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome everyone to the House and congratulate my colleague, Senator Warfield, on bringing the Bill before the House. I also want to thank Independent Senators Norris and Grace O'Sullivan for co-signing the Bill.

This is a human rights issue, but I want to discuss the Bill from the perspective of mental health and well-being on the island, for which I am Sinn Féin spokesperson. I have lengthy experience as a psychiatric nurse in Ireland. The LGBT Ireland study found that LGBTI people are still suffering and struggling with their mental health. While some great work has been done, such as the marriage equality referendum and gender recognition for those aged over 18 years, we are not quite there yet.

As I said earlier, we dedicated a tree of hope in the grounds of Leinster House to those lost to us and struggling with mental health difficulties. We need to recognise the LGBT community and the impact negativity has had on their well-being. Senator Ó Ríordáin has pointed to how well we have done in this country, but that we need to be very mindful of how easy world trends or trends in Ireland can reverse what we would see as a period of enlightenment.

In the next couple of months I will help to represent a 14-year old transgender person before the Equality Commission. He was refused service in his local shop due to the fact he was not seen as representative of the clientele the shop wanted. He tried to buy a bottle of Lucozade in a normal shop. We still have a long way to go in educating and including some parts of our society.

A lot of work needs to be done to support GPs in the understanding of transgender issues. I encourage the Minister to consider this.

The Bill brings us closer to an island that fosters well-being in its LGBTI community and among us all. The Bill will help to challenge the misconceptions around transgender and non-binary issues that negatively impact on young transgender and non-binary people.

The LGBT Ireland report found that one in three members of the general public do not believe that a young person can know she is LGBTI at the age of 12, yet the most common age for trans people to be aware of their identity was 12 years of age. The Bill would recognise and respect the true experience of transgender and non-binary young people by respecting their knowledge of themselves at an early stage and reflecting this knowledge in documentation.

We know from research that having one's identity accepted by others is a positive factor in LGBT well-being. The Bill extends this recognition to younger people. We also know that progress in the LGBT community creates positive impacts on the well-being of others and, if enacted, the Bill will positively impact on the school and travel experiences of young transgender and non-binary people which, in turn, will have a positive impact on their mental health.

It was not too long ago that gay or transgender people were incarcerated and put through corrective programmes in our psychiatric hospitals. We have come a long way, but that does not make us complacent. We need to continue to stand up for rights in general and, in particular, the rights referred to in the Bill. There is no doubt that if it is enacted it will have a significant positive impact on young transgender people.

I urge every Member of the House to support the Bill. We are going from a situation where it was felt something was an ailment that needed to be cured to one where there is celebration, pride and acceptance, which is necessary to support all of our young transgender people.