Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It would be remiss of me not to commend Senator Warfield on the work that he has done in this area. I also commend my colleague, Luke Corkery, who is a member of LGBT Young Fine Gael and has constantly advocated in this regard.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief is Dr. Ahmed Shaheed. Last year, he said the following to UK MPs that the international rights law is clear that, "the right to freedom of religion or belief does not limit the state's obligation to protect the life, dignity, health and equality of LGBTQ+ persons". He also said: "banning such discredited, ineffective, and unsafe practices that misguidedly try to change or suppress people's sexual orientation and gender is not a violation of the right to freedom of religious or belief under international law". I quote Dr. Shaheed because I agree with him following my experience of talking to people and counselling people over the years who are in the aftermath of these experiences, and it is in that spirit that this occurs.

I imagine that the Minister will hear the argument against legislation by people saying that this is a matter of freedom of religion versus a person's dignity. I commend the Minister for moving this matter forward. I also commit to support him all the way through the legislative process in order to ensure we have robust legislation that outlaws this practice and cherishes everyone in our communities.