'I didn't know Ireland was the worst in Europe': Trans rights advocates call for action
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Advocates for trans rights have called on the HSE to urgently address gaps in services, following a Europe-wide survey which placed Ireland last out of 27 countries.
The TGEU trans health map gathered information mainly from local advocates on six areas of healthcare.
Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) CEO Tina Kolos Orban said: “I’m shocked. I knew the situation in Ireland was bad but I had no idea Ireland was the worst in Europe.”
Problems highlighted in the survey were known, they said but it was not expected to be relatively so restricted. “The HSE should realise that the service being provided to trans people in Ireland is not good, and they should try to do better,” they said. “It is obviously not good enough.”
TENI health officer Noah Halpin compiled the Irish responses. “I wasn’t expecting Ireland to come very last,” he said.
“Some of the answers require Yes or No, where in Ireland it’s a bit more complex. They’re saying 'are hysterectomies available publicly in Ireland?' and the answer is ‘kind of but in very strict circumstances’.”
The National Gender Service advises on its website it is doing initial assessments for people referred up to three-and-a-half years ago.
“We are seeing an all-new high in the length of time people have to wait for initial appointments,” he said. “The model of care we use is not in line with the World Health Organisation recommendations.”
In Ireland, a psychiatric diagnosis is required before hormonal treatment or surgery. “For questions such as ‘the process of obtaining hormone treatment’ many countries follow the informed consent model, which is what is recommended, we don’t,” he said.
“We follow a psychiatric diagnostic model, so we would have fallen down on many points there as well.”
Since 2019, the WHO has classified transgender health concerns under sexual health rather than mental and behavioural disorders.
He said an official response to the findings would be welcome as many people in Ireland were surprised to see the level of care available when compared to other EU countries.
“We can request a meeting with the HSE and the Department of Health to go through where Ireland is falling down. That is probably something we are going to look at doing,” he said.
The survey was carried out by TGEU, an international advocacy group across 48 countries which is part-funded by the Council of Europe.