Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 May 2024
401. Deputy Leo Varadkar asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on whether people medically determined to be intersex should be required to register as male or female; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21284/24]
View answerIntersex is understood to be an umbrella term for persons who are born with sex characteristics, such as chromosomes, genitalia, and/or hormonal structure, that do not belong strictly to male or female categories.
It falls to the medical practitioner attending the birth to determine the gender of the child. However, where it is not possible for the gender of the child to be medically determined as “male” or “female”, the medical practitioner records the gender as “indeterminate”. This information is recorded on the birth notification form of the child which is used by the civil registration service in the registration of the birth.
For the parents of an intersex child, or the intersex persons themselves, a correction of the facts can be made at any age , through the civil registration system, from indeterminate to either male or female. This can only be done with the submission of medical evidence as provided for in legislation under Section 63 of the Civil Registration Act 2004.
