Abstract

The introduction of the Gender Recognition Act 2015 (the “2015 Act”) represented a seismic shift in the Irish legal landscape as regards the legal recognition of people whose preferred gender does not correspond with the sex noted upon the register of births. The Act is notable as it represents a loosening of the rigid division between the male and female gender. In essence, it maintains the need for a binary categorisation by gender of people but the boundary has become permeable and movement between the gender categories is now permissible. Questions of identity go to the core of a person’s dignity and thus are central to the inalienable rights we all enjoy a human beings. This chapter will consider the circumstances leading to the introduction of the 2015 Act. It will examine how the legislative scheme evolved during its passage through the Oireachtas and analyse both the enacted legislation and the manner in which it is operationalised. Thus it will consider whether the manner in which the right to recognition was realised in the 2015 Act fully respects the rights and dignity of those who may wish to avail of its provisions.