Come on Ireland! Leo Varadkar says violent males should NOT be in prison with women

Male people with trans identities should absolutely be better protected from assault in male prisons.

There are a number of ways to meet that need.

None of them need to involve using female prisoners.

Apologies to Leo, if he sees this.
A genuine error, not intended to be derogatory.
I will make sure to get it right from here on.

Ireland, North and South, has a large, government-funded NGO layer providing lots of nice middle-class jobs for people who always think exactly what is considered fashionable and ‘correct’ to think in their social circle.

This NGO layer exists in Scotland too (as we’ve seen from the consultation and legislative process around the Scottish GRR Bill) and in all 3 jurisdictions (ROI, NI, Scotland) these NGO/activist groups have an outsize influence on government policy. Unlike civil groups such as those representing women and children abused by the church (with state sanction) who get much less of a look-in because they remind people of Old Ireland and the government is all about New Ireland: they want an Ireland that is seen internationally as being more progressive than 'The Brits’, an Ireland that is attractive to Silicon Valley money, an Ireland that sets up Ministers for jobs in Brussels after their political career here winds down, and an Ireland that can keep alive the old tradition of passing on seats in the Dáil to family members 🤷‍♀️ Yes, decades of Irish politics has made me very cynical of Irish politicians and their sexist attitudes towards women as well as their 'jobs for life, jobs for the boys' behaviour.

/rant

It really feckin annoys me that they are conflating ‘intersex’ ie people who disorders of sexual development with trans.

it’s like conflating people born with one leg with foot fetishists

oh, and total side issue, but it's very easy to spell Varadkar correctly - easier than misspelling it - and doing so leaves him and his with nothing to get snitty about.

As @iamlookingfor has listed above a lot of the powers that be have personal motives to normalise this as much as possible.

Making up statistics about trans people being assauted in prisons (has that ever happened in Ireland? - not gay prisoners but trans prisoners) shows an unpreparedness to use honesty in any discussion.

Obviously it is shameful if anyone is assaulted in prison, and the US prison system is a disgrace on that and other scores, but irrelevant to Ireland.

I think the problem is the only people who have been consulted so far are activist organisations who frame any questions as being solely motivated by unthinking bigotry and just pure hatred. This means that they don't accept that problems can exist because there are problems.

It can only be hoped that all the above can set aside personal feelings and emotions, and ensure that the rights of everyone are protected.
That is the job they are paid to do.

So far, I think, the perception has been that nobody in the government or opposition has been willing to do this. Though, there are apparently, many politicians who will privately say that they have concerns but feel unable to speak up.

m This is it ^100% the well-being of trans people does need to feature in changes made but for the last while it has been only about caring about validating trans peoples identity which is just a ludicrous starting point. The first part has to has to has to has to be safeguarding and safety.

I think that the fact that Leo Varadker, and the current and previous Ministers for Children and Equality are all gay has created a perception, rightly or wrongly, that they might be more interested in ensuring LGBTQI interests are served in this area. All, I am sure, have been on the receiving end of homophobia, over the years, and for that reason might be more inclined to view objections to gender ideology as transphobic, rather than genuinely held concerns.
The current junior Minister for mental health has a transgender child also.
The main opposition leader has a sibling who is transgender.
It can only be hoped that all the above can set aside personal feelings and emotions, and ensure that the rights of everyone are protected.
That is the job they are paid to do.
So far, I think, the perception has been that nobody in the government or opposition has been willing to do this. Though, there are apparently, many politicians who will privately say that they have concerns but feel unable to speak up.

Between that and the platform that AI have taken opposing the Scandinavian model for sex workers.

And NWCI.

Yeah I remember that one. I actually think of AI as a rogue organisation everyday since Colm o Gorman took that bonkers decision.

You won't believe the letter they signed:
Amnesty, NWCI call for women/LGB groups who disagree with them to be stripped of political "representation" - Gript

@iamlookingfor how dare the nationals womens council of Ireland retweet that. I never knew there was a trans woman at the helm. What hope do women have in Ireland at this rate..

This was a response from Trans and Intersex Pride Dublin.
It was retweeted by the taxpayer funded National Women's Council of Ireland, a group whose function is to represent, and lobby, for the interests of Irish women.
As number of years ago, they appointed a trans woman to their board, and defined a woman as "anyone who identifies as one".
Since then, they have prioritised trans women over women, as evidenced by the attached tweet.

Zappone eh? That explains a lot.

Aengus O' Snodaigh (Sinn Fein) and TENI at launch of his bill in early 2013 which did allow courts to overrule parental objection
Gender Recognition Bill 2013 see section 6 (3)
Links on other sites to Katherine Zappones and TENIs input into the successor of this seem to be broken. Will keep digging.

I reckon they want the age reduced as they would hope parents would pay for the hormone drugs & surgeries. It's all about money.

Sorry @miri1985 that still mentions parental consent...will try to find some of the older docs that decried it. Need to learn to read fully before posting. But this shows they still want the age reduced.

@miri1985 that's more lies from TENI. They, along with belongto have been pushing to remove restrictions for under 18s and to allow recognition of under 16s. I know the TENI site was scrubbed after the scrutiny over finances but I found this from belongto.
TENI/Belongto on the GRA
The TENI site when discussing the gra also mentions the barriers for 16-17 year olds being a "shortcoming" of the bill.

@Lostmarblesfinder in the meantime they're hoping we all pipe down & move onto something else..
Have any trans groups spoke out yet? I bet they're furious with Leo.

The one thing we have going for is with Leo is that he will do what he needs to for votes. He personally might not give a shit about the conflict between women's rights and trans rights but he will figure out where the votes are in this and that will guide him. I used to live in his constituency and I saw how good a politician he was in that respect. He is no fool on this issue unlike Kier Starmer or Nicola Sturgeon. He will ultimately follow the votes.

Yes Leo is gay, on his extreme right in the clip is Minister Roddy O’Gorman, also gay. Roddy is pushing the Trans gender cause. I’d like if the journalists asked him the same questions as Leo.

Leo is lying about not knowing about Barbie K. But it doesn’t matter as he’s now said the right things because he knows full well it was this issue led to Nicola Sturgeon resigning.