I had a representative of the Social Democrats (Ireland) canvassing today. She told me there were “problems with the methodology” in the Cass report. This is completely untrue - yet it seems to be how they are approaching the issue. To quote an evil man: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”
I’m a doctor with a higher degree in research, so I am competent to evaluate the methodology in the Cass report. It is an absolutely excellent piece of work. I would love to see the same rigour applied to other areas of medicine. In fact, I would recommend reading it to medical students, post graduate doctors in training and other clinicians, as it explains how to evaluate research so well. Furthermore, it is well written and an enjoyable read (not always the case in such documents!).
In the UK, the Conservative and Labour parties have accepted the recommendations of the Cass report. Even Scotland appears to be implementing the recommendations.
I hope our politicians in Ireland take heed. I will be voting accordingly.