Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 January 2014
403. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection further to publications of the recent legislative programme, her plans for the publication of the gender recognition Bill originally planned for mid-2014. [3965/14]
View answerThe General Scheme of the Gender Recognition Bill 2013 was published on 17 July 2013, following Cabinet approval. The Bill provides for the recognition of the acquired gender of transgender people aged 18 and over and who are not married or in a civil partnership. The legislation will also facilitate persons with intersex conditions.
Once enacted, it will mean that a person who has been issued with a gender recognition certificate will have their acquired gender fully recognised by the State for all purposes – including the right to marry or enter a civil partnership in the acquired gender and the right to a new birth certificate.
Following publication, the General Scheme of the Bill was referred to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection. The Committee held hearings on the legislation on 23 and 24 October 2013. Officials from the Department of Social Protection, representative groups and legal and medical experts participated in the hearings. The Committee’s Report was published on 16 January 2014.
I am currently considering the Report and will soon bring a Memorandum to Government where the Committee’s recommendations will be considered. Following Government consideration, the General Scheme of the Bill will be referred to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel for drafting with the aim of the legislation being published later this year.
