Sir, – Victoria Mullen (January 24th) puts forward a critical view of the Gender Recognition Bill, which the Tánaiste Joan Burton initiated through the Oireachtas last week.
In fact, the legislation is a very significant milestone in progressing the civil rights of transgender people.
The legislation ensures that persons who receive a gender recognition certificate will be officially legally recognised by the State as being of the preferred gender from that day forward. They will be recognised in the preferred gender for all purposes, including dealings with the State, public bodies, and civil and commercial society. They will be entitled to marry a person of the opposite gender or enter a civil partnership with a person of the same gender, and will be entitled, where relevant, to a new birth certificate that shows the preferred gender and new names (if names are also changed).
The application process for gender recognition certificate is fair and reasonable. It requires a statutory declaration by the applicant that they intend to live permanently in the new gender, and validation by the primary treating physician that the person has transitioned or is transitioning to the preferred gender.
The process will not require details of care including medical history or confirmation of a diagnosis, nor will the person have to confirm he or she has been living in their preferred gender for a specific period of time prior to their application. This is a much more progressive, less onerous and less invasive approach than is the case in many other countries.
As Ms Mullen notes, the Bill requires that an applicant for gender recognition be single. This is pending the outcome of the referendum on same-sex marriage due to take place in May 2015. While this is not ideal, the existing constitutional prohibition on same-sex marriage is a blockage in that respect. This is a reality which your columnist, Una Mullally, also fails to take into account (“Trans rights are only basic human rights after all”, Opinion & Analysis, January 26th).
If the outcome of the referendum is that same-sex marriages will be constitutionally permissible, then it will be possible to revisit this aspect of the legislation. The Government will be campaigning vigorously for marriage equality and if the referendum is passed, the Tánaiste’s firm intention would be to return swiftly to this aspect of the legislation. – Yours, etc,
PAUL O’BRIEN,
Deputy Government
Press Secretary,
Government Buildings,
Merrion Street, Dublin 2.