Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. I also thank Senator Warfield for drafting the Bill and putting it forward. I commend the Senator and look up to him as he has been a great advocate for LGBTQ rights, which is something that should be acknowledged. I want to put on the record, on behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party, that we are grateful for his leadership on this matter. I welcome those in the Visitors Gallery who are here to support the Bill and thank them for taking time out of their day to come to listen to us.

The Bill seeks to prohibit conversation therapy which seeks to change, suppress and-or eliminate a person's sexual orientation, gender identity and-or gender expression. The Bill also criminalises attempts to take people abroad to access conversion therapies. Fianna Fáil is proud to support this Bill, which is co-sponsored by myself and other Members of this House, including other members of my own party.

Homosexuality was only decriminalised in Ireland as recently as the 1990s. With that in mind, the progression of LGBTQ rights has not been insignificant. Ireland made history in 2015 as the first country to legalise gay marriage by popular ballot and this was followed quickly by the Gender Recognition Act, which was enacted in September 2015. Despite these gains in LGBTQ rights, it is astonishing that people can still be forced to undergo archaic and invasive therapy based on the notion that homosexuality is an "illness” that can be "cured” through psychiatric treatments. From speaking to my colleagues, I know this practice is being carried out close to home, in my own constituency, which leaves me dumbfounded as I cannot believe it is happening. On that basis alone, I would be delighted if this Bill was speedily enacted. By not criminalising these practices, Ireland is failing people within the LGBTQ community and leaving them vulnerable to psychological torment. Conversion therapies have been shown to have a negative impact on people's mental health as they can lead to lower self-esteem, depression and suicidal ideation. It is hoped the Bill will send out a powerful message that practices masquerading as "therapy” will not be tolerated in this society. To date, only Brazil, Ecuador and Malta have nationwide bans on the practice, and we will be joining these countries.

Turning to the main provisions of the Bill, it prohibits any person from performing or offering to perform conversion therapy or from advertising conversion therapy, and this is punishable by a fine of €1,000 to €5,000 and-or imprisonment of up to six months. The Bill also prohibits any person from removing a person from the State for the purposes of conversion therapy, which is punishable by a fine of €2,000 to €10,000 and-or imprisonment of up to 12 months. It prohibits a professional from performing or offering to perform conversion therapy, irrespective of whether monetary compensation is received or not, or from referring a person to other professionals to perform conversion therapy, and this is punishable by a fine of €2,000 to €10,000 and-or imprisonment of up to 12 months. If the Bill is passed, it will come into effect one month from the date of its passage.

Senator Warfield has highlighted what is involved in conversion therapy. In the past, some mental health professionals resorted to extreme measures, such as institutionalisation, castration and electroconvulsive shock therapy, to try to stop people from being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Nowadays, the techniques most commonly used include a variety of behavioural, cognitive, psychoanalytic and other practices that try to change or reduce same-sex attraction or alter a person's gender identity. While some of these contemporary versions of conversion therapy seem less shocking than therapies used in the past, they are equally devoid of scientific validity and pose serious dangers to patients, especially to minors, who are often forced to undergo them by their parents or legal guardians, and who are at especially high risk of being harmed.

Mainstream mental health professionals all say conversion therapy should be outlawed. All of the world's leading professional medical and mental health associations have rejected conversion therapy as unnecessary, ineffective and dangerous. The American Psychiatric Association opposes any psychiatric treatment such as reparative or conversion therapy, which is based upon the assumption that homosexuality per seis a mental disorder or based upon the a priori assumption that a patient should change his or her sexual orientation.

I again thank the Minister of State and ask her to support the Bill in its entirety. I thank Senator Warfield and the members of Sinn Féin. On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party, we are delighted to support the Bill and we look forward to its speedy passage through the Houses of the Oireachtas.