On 17 July, the Department of Social Protection published the General Scheme of the Gender Recognition Bill 2013. The draft legislation is the first step by the Irish government towards recognising transgender people in their true gender. The Bill has been welcomed by both the Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC) and the Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI).
The Bill will mean that a transgender person can have their true gender fully recognised by the State for all purposes, including the right to marry or enter a civil partnership in their true gender and the right to a new birth certificate. The Bill will only apply to those who are over 18 and not currently married or in a civil partnership. Under the draft legislation, a transgender person will be required to submit two pieces of documentation to support their request. These include:
· A statutory self-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 acquired gender.
TENI have expressed concerns in relation to a number of key elements of the draft legislation, including: the age barrier, the requirement to have a doctor’s supporting statement and the requirement to be single. The requirement that a transgender person not be married or in a civil partnership indicates that individuals will be forced to divorce before making an application under the proposed legislation. Germany and Austria both recently struck down forced divorce in gender recognition legislation as a breach of fundamental human rights law. Click here to read a report on Transgender Persons’ Rights in the EU Member States.
Michael Farrell, Senior Solicitor at FLAC said, “Other European countries have done away with ‘forced divorce’ provisions’; we should not be introducing this discriminatory measure just when everyone else is getting rid of it and we should be seeking to bring in a generous and inclusive system to make up for the indignity and suffering forced on transgender persons in the past.” Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, has said that the issue will be looked at again once the government has decided its response to recent Constitutional Convention recommendations on same-sex marriage. Click here to read a press release from the Department of Social Protection about the new Bill.
At present Ireland is the only European country that has no provision for legal recognition of transgender persons. The High Court ruled in October 2007 that the State should issue FLAC’s client, Dr Lydia Foy, with a new birth certificate recognising her female gender. It is 20 years since Dr Foy first applied for a new birth certificate and 16 years since she began legal proceedings, supported by FLAC, to secure recognition of her acquired gender. Click here to read a FLAC briefing note about Dr. Foy’s case.
The draft Bill will now be referred to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection for consideration in the autumn.
Click here to read a press release from FLAC.
Click here to read a press release from TENI.