Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, to the House and I thank her for taking the Bill. I understand the great humanity and compassion she brings to her job in respect of this particular issue. It is always hard to follow the father of the House but, in the time allocated to me, I will start at the end of Senator Norris's speech.

Despite the progress we have made as a society and as a country, there is an unknown within elements of society. Within that darkness those people feel the emotions of being afraid. There are people who are petrified. The issues of repression, cruelty and inhumanity still resonate with many people, including some who are meant to be people's pastors, family or support.

Like Senator Norris, I commend Senator Warfield on this Bill. I was happy to sign it. I speak not just as a Member of the House and as a member of the LGBT community, but as a member of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE, Parliamentary Assembly. Other Members of the House who travel and are involved in European committees will understand that there is a huge journey to take in parts of the world and that we in this country must continue to lead. Today is another example of taking that lead.

To those who are listening and who support the retention of conversion therapy or any elements of repression, I again say that sexuality is not a choice. In Senator Higgins's contribution she spoke about love and inclusion. The God that I and the faith-based community of which I am a member pray to is a God of inclusiveness. I was made in his image and likeness. That is what we must bring from today. It is about ensuring that people are free to be who they are and that they are respected and treated with dignity both by the State and by us as citizens of a republic.

There are parents and people in certain churches in certain communities who feel that we can repress, convert and change. We all know quite well that that practice and mindset is wrong and erroneous. We should look at the rates of self-harm and suicide among the LGBT community. We should look at the mental health issues. Today's legislation is as important as any we have had in the past. It is about ensuring that those who feel vulnerable and isolated know they are not alone. Members of this House and Members in Government are with them. Notwithstanding the points the Minister of State made in her speech about issues in the Bill which need to be clarified, tidied up and cleared up - and we can do that - there is cross-party support for this legislation.

Unfortunately, I happened to listen to some of the coverage on some of the US networks about different issues around sexuality in the United States over recent weeks. This is an abusive therapy. As Senators Norris and Warfield have said, it is condemned by all mental health organisations, by all of us involved in civic life and, as Senator Norris has rightly said, by the professionals in particular. If we can do one thing in this debate apart from expediting the passage of this Bill, it is to send a message that Seanad Éireann stands with and supports the LGBTQ+ community in its entirety, in a cross-party, collective and universal way.

This time last year I had the pleasure of being in the United States as part of a State Department-Boston College programme in which ten members of the Irish LGBT community travelled across parts of the United States. The one thing that struck me, very forcefully, was the way in which, in some cases, the trans community was misunderstood, not respected and not supported by community and family. I know we have a housing crisis in Ireland but, taking my mind back to that trip to North Carolina and Boston, I was struck by the number of trans people who were forced to couch-surf and to sleep in cars, and who had been thrown out of their homes by their parents because of ignorance, a lack of understanding and a lack of respect.

To fast-forward to today, this Bill is important. It is about the lives of people. It is about offering them a lifestyle where they can be free to be who they are. In a modern society, we should not have to have a debate to pass this Bill. We should not have this conversation, but we do have to. As long as there are people in this House like Senator Warfield and all Members who support this Bill, we will continue to be a progressive society.I commend the Bill to the House and I thank the Minister of State for her contribution. I hope, as a consequence of the debate, we can learn to love and be inclusive, as Senator Higgins said. The proof of that is how we, as a society, behave.