Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I join with Senators Norris and McDowell in commending the work carried out by the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, GLEN, since 1988. Its closure last week means that a colossus of the LGBTQI movement in Ireland has now been lost. Since its inception following the homophobic and brutal murder of Declan Flynn in Fairview Park, GLEN initiated Ireland's first Pride parade, was pivotal in decriminalisation and in the campaigns for civil partnership and civil marriage equality. Recently GLEN advocated support of Sinn Féin's Gender Recognition (Amendment) Bill, for which I thank the organisation. I commend all of GLEN's achievements in making Ireland a safer place in which to grow up LGBT. It is regrettable that the activism of GLEN would come to an end in controversy. It is hugely unfortunate that not only its advocacy work but also the various services it provided have come to an end. The HSE will not provide funding to any organisation under investigation but the services previously provided by GLEN will now be provided by other LGBT organisations, of which there are now many.

On Sunday many of us woke to a realisation that the LGBTQI struggle has a good distance still to go. The George bar in Dublin's city centre was vandalised with discriminatory and fascist emblems and slurs. In this context, we must urgently address the need for hate crime legislation. Last weekend marked the second anniversary of the passing of the civil marriage equality referendum and I want to commend friends and comrades, Mark McLoughlin and Neal Rush, for their mock wedding at Stormont. Same-sex couples in Northern Ireland continue to wait for legislation around civil marriage equality. It is time for all-Ireland civil marriage equality and for hate crime legislation.