EXPLAINER: Same-sex only prison accommodation Amendment Bill passes unopposed

The Gender Recognition Amendment Bill (prisons) has passed its first stage successfully in the Dáil, unopposed. 

The Bill refers to where male, female or other gendered people will be placed in prison. 

The purpose of this Bill is to make single-sex accommodation the norm once again in prisons and for prison accommodation to be segregated into solely 'male' or 'female' centres.

To do this, the Amendment Bill proposes that a gender recognition certificate would not affect whether a person is deemed male or female, for the purpose of applying the existing rule of single-sex accommodation in prisons.

A gender recognition certificate is an official document which a person acquires for the State to recognise their change of gender. The Bill proposes that having one of these certificates will not apply for those who are convicted and sentenced to prison time. 

Example of what the Amendment Bill aims to do: A man acquires a gender recognition certificate to be officially recognised as a woman, in the eyes of the State. They are then convicted of a crime and sentenced to prison. They are placed in a male only prison, despite having been granted the gender recognition certificate previously by the State.

Ten TD's signed the bill to get it over the line on its first stage. 

"All citizens are equal and valued, no matter what their identity, ethnicity, religion or orientation. Everyone should be treated on the basis of their own individual character. Gender dysphoria is real and is not easy for anyone. We need to treat all our citizens with respect and decency," said Aontú Leader and Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín.

"[However].. It is also really important that we have a society that is based on logical, science and evidence. Evidence and science are on optional extras, they are critical in the development in a just and fair society."

Mr Tóibín continued by giving an example of a Limerick criminal who got immunity granted to them thanks to having acquired the gender recognition certificate, Barbie Kardashian. 

"A consequence of the Gender Recognition Act is that it allows male born criminals to be placed in women’s prisons. This has led to an incredible situation where male born prisoners who have been jailed for horrific sexual offences have been located in women’s prisons.

"Barbie Kardashian was found guilty of threatening to kill, rape and torture his mother. Kardashian was granted a gender recognition certificate by the Department of Social Protection and as a result was placed in a women’s prison.

"This was a horrendous dereliction of duty by this government in terms of the protection of women and this Aontú Bill is designed simply to prevent male born criminals being placed into Women’s Prisons," concluded Mr Tóibín.