Seanad debates

Wednesday, 29 June 2022

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

 

10:00 am

Photo of Frances BlackFrances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support my colleague, Senator Flynn, in her call for a debate on Traveller education. It is vital. On my behalf and that of Senator Flynn, I welcome the new mayor of Waterford, Joe Kelly, and his wife, to the House. They are very welcome.

I congratulate the organisers of last Saturday's Pride parade. Is always so beautiful and exciting to see thousands of people marching together, celebrating the wonderful and great diversity, creativity and resilience of Irish LGBT people. I also salute all my colleagues who attended the march to show their support. We are very fortunate to live in a country where the vast majority of political figures are empathetic supporters of LGBT people. When we look at the profoundly toxic discourse around transgender people and their rights in the US or UK we can see the damage the normalisation of bigotry can cause. Is not enough to use respectful language and fly rainbow flags on State buildings every June. If we are to be real allies of transgender people, we need to provide them with the access to healthcare that they need in order to thrive. The HSE service plan for 2022 commits to developing capacity to meet its obligations under the national LGBTQI+ inclusion strategy 2019-21. That inclusion strategy committed the State to the recruitment of the specialist healthcare and support staff necessary for the provision of gender-affirming care. Despite this commitment, the national gender service has huge wait times that leave many transgender people waiting years to be provided with care. This wait can cause a lot of anguish. Some individuals self-medicate with hormones purchased online. Others are forced to crowdfund for gender-affirming surgery on social media and travel to medical tourism destinations like Poland to access the services they need in a timely manner. This failure to provide adequate levels of care is depriving transgender people of the dignity and equal treatment they are entitled to.

Another issue that impedes transgender people's access to healthcare is the fact that the national gender service uses an outdated model of care. This means that people seeking care are subject to invasive questioning about their sex lives and other intimate matters. This is not in keeping with international best practice guidelines set out by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, WPATH, which seek to de-pathologise transgender identity. Being trans or gay is a normal part of human diversity. People should not feel stigmatised or violated when seeking care. Adoption of the WPATH guidelines is part of the programme for Government. That is wonderful but we need to make sure this commitment is brought to fruition as soon as possible.

Trans people in Ireland face a stark choice between an interminable wait at home or a daunting journey abroad to get the care they need. We need to take action to ensure Ireland's commitment to transgender equality is reflected in deeds, not just words. I ask the Minister for Health to come to this House to brief us on the work being done to build capacity in this area to meet the Government's commitments.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.