THE MINISTER FOR Mental Health has emphasised the importance of supporting young trans people and delivering adequate healthcare.

Speaking on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics, Fianna Fáil TD Mary Butler said that as the proud mother of a trans man she has seen the abuse trans people are subjected to.

“As a proud mother of a young trans man, I see every day the strength and resilience of our trans youth,” she said.

“There’s a very small cohort of young trans people that are really subjected to awful abuse, I, as a mother, am subjected to awful abuse in relation to a young person living their best life.”

“All they’re looking for is respect and support, and they’re not harming anyone”.

Butler said that a recent article by Leo Varadkar in the Sunday Times on Ireland’s gender recognition law gave her hope on the issue.

Varadkar praised The Gender Recognition Act, which has been in place for ten years and provides for legal recognition for change of gender.

Varadkar’s article spoke out against opponents who “spout myths on sport and single-sex spaces while ignoring the evidence that the trans community poses no threat and self-determination works”.

“Ireland is proof positive that these scare stories have no basis in fact. Since 2015, about 1,500 people have secured a gender recognition certificate. The numbers applying, far from surging, actually fell last year. The legally recognised trans community makes up a tiny and vulnerable minority that poses a threat to no one,” he said.

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Butler said she is working behind the scenes to deliver healthcare support for young trans people, something she said is “very hard” to speak openly about.

She highlighted the need to ensure access to counselling for young teens and provide proper endocrinology care for older adolescents, 

“We won’t be stopped in providing the healthcare that these young people need,” she said.