Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
1133. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Health the action his Department has taken to honour the Programme for Government pledge to ensure that Government Departments and public bodies take positive steps, including the use of correct pronouns and, where possible, making improvements on official forms, to assist non-binary people. [35831/23]
View answerThe Review Group for the Gender Recognition Act included in its report, at recommendation 2C, that Government Departments and other public bodies should take any positive steps to improve the position of people who are non-binary. An example of where this commitment is detailed is in the Civil Service Renewal Strategy 2030, which acknowledges that Ireland has a growing and increasingly diverse population and sets out our goal of ensuring that our policy and service responses are focused on equality, inclusivity and accessibility.
In line within the aims of this strategy, my Department’s internal Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Working Group works on improving awareness and support of EDI matters among colleagues through various events, training, and communications. Specific information sessions with Pride at Work by Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride and BelongTo were held in 2022 and 2023 to raise awareness on the use of pronouns and LGBTQ+ terminology as well as learn more about the LGBTQ+ community. My Department has also shown its support to the LGBTQ+ community by participating in the Dublin Pride Parade with colleagues from across the Civil Service and Public sector in 2022 and in 2023. In addition, the EDI Working Group has also promoted events and initiatives taking place across the wider Civil Service throughout Pride Month in June, including LGBTQ+ webinars hosted through OneLearning.
