Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh míle maith agat Cathaoirligh agus b'fhearr liom fáilte a chur roimh ár n-aíonna ó Ghaelcholáiste Cheatharlach. I also welcome our other distinguished guests.

I would like to second my friend, Senator Martin's Bill. I know from Senator Keogan that she does not anticipate any stiff opposition to this particular Bill. It seems to be worthy of support from all sides of the House.

I wish our new Senator well. I was going to introduce myself as a member of a minority group in the House but since the recent referendum results, I can no longer make that claim with any integrity. I reiterate my call for a debate in this House on the outcome of those referendums and the lessons to be learned on various issues, as well as the policy issues that might flow from that.

I also wish our new Taoiseach well. He is a man of talent but talent is not enough. He is a man of great work rate but work rate is not enough. He has a hard task ahead of him. If I could give him one piece of advice, it would be to keep his promises. He has not always done so but he has made a lot of very important promises in recent days. I hope he will do so. I wish him well.

I ask for a debate on the implications of the report by Dr. Hilary Cass looking at gender services in the United Kingdom. It has major implications for what has been going on here under the leadership of several Ministers for Health, including our current Taoiseach, and the HSE. It is clear that Dr. Cass has found that there is no evidence base for the practice of giving puberty blockers to children under the age of 18. She has called for an end to the practice. She has said that the normal principles of paediatrics and mental health do not seem to have applied when it comes to the treatment of transgender identifying children.

There is massive concern in the UK regarding how the numbers went from 50 children, mainly boys, in 2009 to over 3,000 children, mainly girls, now. What has been happening in Ireland? We know the HSE has been on the wrong track. Before I sit down, I want to ask for a debate on this. I ask for a review of what the HSE has done in these cases under various Ministers. I want to know whether children have been endangered and whether the State could face a cause of action from those children whose lives may have been harmed by puberty blockers and other treatments carried out on them under the auspices of our health authorities. We need to open up this issue and look at exactly what has gone on and we need accountability on the matter.