Malcolm Noonan (Green Party)

I want to raise two issues. I am not sure, but perhaps we have discussed the United Nations at 80. We have had a number of discussions this morning in relation to the UN roll. I would welcome an opportunity to have debate on the United Nations at 80 in light of the fact that this is a significant milestone in the organisation's evolution. As the UN plenary concluded, it is particularly pertinent that we have that discussion. My father played a very active role as a member of the Defence Forces and served on the early peacekeeping missions in the Congo from 1960 to 1963.

The UN is in need of urgent reform. Attempts to do that were made by previous UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan. Given the redistribution of power that is required from the Security Council to the General Assembly and the very notion of the existence of permanent members of the Security Council, this has hamstrung the UN in the context of carrying out its duties and with regard to its role in peacekeeping and trying to put a stop to wars. Its structure does not reflect the universal membership. It was founded in a completely different world. The future of the UN must be built on the principle of the prevention of wars, building democratic structures, strengthening democracies and eradicating poverty through a climate justice lens as opposed to just engaging in firefighting exercises. I would welcome the opportunity for a debate on the UN at 80.

The second issue I want to raise is that of transgender rights. It is a decade since the Gender Recognition Act was brought into force in 2015. The latter was very forward-thinking, progressive legislation in an Irish context, but there has been very little progress since then. There was a review in 2018, but very little progress has been made. Ireland must now act to advance equality for transgender and non-binary people. The recommendations made in 2018 and those contained in the National LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy of 2019-2021 - the first of its kind - and in the annual strategy for the year 2025-26 must be acted upon as a matter of urgency. This is probably something I should table as a Commencement matter, but I felt the need to raise it today. I would welcome a debate on the matter.