Sinn Féin TD Máire Devine has said that “more work” is needed to improve LGBTQIA+ rights in Ireland, and stated, “the rise of hate crime and anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric worldwide by bad actors is calculated to reverse hard-fought human rights gains.”
During a Dáil discussion on Pride, the Dublin South Central TD said that anti-LBGTIA+ rhetoric is a “hateful and destructive narrative, fed by some world leaders.”
“It is divisive and damages the human spirit,” she said.
Devine stated, “The manosphere narrows the mind and seeks to regress human civil rights and dignity. It is amplified by the increase in online and offline hate. It is a mammoth task to counteract this, as a global political shift to the right is happening. Homophobic and transphobic rhetoric is seeping more and more into the public domain. We can never let our guard down. It needs to be called out.”
The Sinn Féin TD discussed Ireland’s social progress, noting “in 2015, marriage equality was a momentous and proud moment for Ireland, the first country to legislate for this by a referendum of the people.
“Those glorious days which were celebrated and embraced seem to have dwindled since then, with Trump and his cohort and Brexit and xenophobia playing their part as civil rights are being rolled back. Bród has come a long way. June is the month of celebration and Pride continues its success.”
Devine stated ‘more work is required; nothing is ever done and dusted.”
“Things evolve, damage is repaired and wrongs are corrected. Ireland’s transgender healthcare is a mess. The National Gender Service is not fit for purpose. Trans people deserve care based on international best practice.”
She said, “everybody has the right to safety, integrity of identity and happiness. Conversion therapy, which is abhorrent and has inflicted so much suffering, is another breach of human rights. The former Sinn Féin Senator, Fintan Warfield, introduced a Bill to ban it, as did Sinn Féin Minister of Communities, Deirdre Hargey, in the Six Counties. This legislation is the antidote to the barbaric and medieval practice of conversion.”
Overall, however, Devine said “there is much to be positive about” with regards to LGBTIA+ rights in Ireland.
“A debate was part of a Pride event on Monday. It discussed statistics showing that we have evolved from a dark place of fear to an LGBT community that is more accepted and we are up there with the top countries in Europe. There is an accepting and welcoming involvement by all of us in shaping our society and island and respecting an Ireland for all”
