Minister: I am so proud of my mother's reaction when my son transitioned

Minister of State for Mental Health Mary Butler said her youngest son Jay — who is now in fifth year in secondary school — experienced bullying during his transition but said now he is 'absolutely fantastic'. Picture: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie

Fianna Fáil junior minister Mary Butler has spoken of her pride at her own mother’s reaction to the transition of her youngest son.

Ms Butler, who is minister of state for mental health and older people, urged parents to listen to their children, if they are struggling with gender identity.

The mother of three said supports for children who are transgender are "very poor" in this country and “are not where they should be”.

She said her youngest son Jay — who is now in fifth year in secondary school — experienced bullying during his transition but said now he is “absolutely fantastic”.

“There’s so many Jays out there that need support and from my point of view, an awful lot of people won’t understand it and I find sometimes the commentary on social media can be extremely hurtful and I put it down [to] that people don't really understand it, I didn’t understand it myself at the start,” she said.

“I will say one thing, it was my proudest day in my life when I spoke to my own mother about my youngest who was going through a difficult phase and is doing very well at the moment, and I’ll always remember, and she turned around and said to me ‘I have 12 grandchildren and I’ll love all of them equally'.

“I have to say when a person of 84 or 85 [years] has that type of an outlook on life, on young people, we can all learn from it.”

Ms Butler said the school her son is currently attending was “exceptional” in its support for children “who find that they want to travel a different pathway in life”.

The Waterford TD said her family got fantastic support from their local GP when Jay was transitioning, and it occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic which gave the family time to be together at home.

She said the HSE and the Department of Health are working on getting professional supports in place in relation to gender issues.

She said it was “really important not to rush into any decision” and said it could take a number of years for someone with gender issues to work through what is happening during a difficult time in their life.

She said she had spoken to young people who suffer from gender dysphoria, who hate their body and will not shower in daylight.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of people in relation to this and I do have experience personally myself and what I would say is, the first thing to do is listen to the child,” she told WLRFM radio.

Ms Butler said the issue of transitioning was very difficult to explain to older generations but said “the voice and choice of each person should be heard”.