A call has been made to publish a mandated review of Ireland’s gender-changing law [1] which is one of the most radical in the world. The law, introduced in 2015, allows individuals change their legal gender on request, and minors aged 16 and over, after a routine court process. The law mandated that a review of its operation be conducted after two years and be delivered to the Government. That review was brought to the cabinet by the Minister for Social protection Regina Doherty yesterday. It is thought to include a recommendation that those 16 and over should no longer have to undergo a court process to change their legal gender. Even more radically, it recommends that children under 16 should also be facilitated in changing their gender and that courts should become involved in adjudicating gender-recognition applications for children only when a parent does not give consent or there is a concern about mental health.
Sinn Féin Senator Fintan Warfield has called for the report’s immediate publication. Mr Warfield said the 2015 Act was “one of the most progressive pieces of legislation in the world” with the exception of the provisions for children under 16 and those in the 16/17 age category. He hopes that legislative changes to facilitate minors changing their legal gender would happen without delay. This, he said, “will end forced outing of oneself if certain legal documents (including birth certificates) align with a person’s true gender”.