Transgender Bill to be debated in Seanad

New laws which recognise the acquired gender of transgender people are moving a step closer.

However, there are calls for changes to the Gender Recognition Bill, which is being debated in the Seanad today.

The Bill has said that applicants for acquired gender must be single, and also rules out those aged under 16.

Broden Giambrone, chief executive of the Transgender Equality Network has said that some of the wording is too narrow.

"There's quite restrictive medical criteria, so at the moment you'll need a statement from your primary medical practitioner - and a medical practitioner is defined very narrowly as either a psychiatrist or an endocrinologist," he said.

"What this means is that trans people who are not undergoing a process of medical transition - or who are not involved or engaged in the healthcare system - will be excluded, or will certainly have to go through many additional steps, which can be quite prohibitive."