Pride
From fielding the first openly gay party candidate for Dáil Éireann, to being the first to make equal marriage core party policy North and South, the Green Party is proud to fight for LGBTQIA+ rights.
This year is the 40th anniversary of Dublin Pride. In that time, incredible progress has been made on LGBTQI+ rights across all of Ireland. A culture of love has replaced a culture of fear, but still, intolerance and discrimination persists.
As we embrace this year’s Pride celebrations 2023, we are mindful that the festival takes place in the shadow of increased hate crimes and attacks on the LGBTQI+ community. Homophobic, biphobic and transphobic violence aims to instill fear among us, but fear will not win.
By coming together on this Pride occasion, we will demonstrate our strength as a community. Pride is a celebration of who we are, and allows us to celebrate the genuine progress made to date in the fight for equality. Importantly, we must remember the roots of Pride, the fight for LGBTQI+ liberation. As a Party, we have always been proud to campaign for the rights of LGBTQI+ people, and in Government we are working to advance those rights.
Three years through our term in Government, we have made great strides in advancing LGBTQI+ rights. Green Party Minister for Equality Roderic O'Gorman is leading the way on implementing the National LGBTQI+ Inclusion Strategy and reviewing the current strategy to highlight areas of improvement.
The Green Party has a history of campaigning for radical change and, in Government, we will continue to work to make Ireland a place where all lives are valued and supported, free from hatred and discrimination.
For Pride 2023, we call on everyone to choose love, as we continue our work to make laws that protect and support people whose human rights are infringed on.
First openly gay candidate for a political party
First to raise equal marriage in Dáil Éireann
First to adopt equal marriage as party policy
First to include gay partnership rights in a Programme for Government
First to legislate for gay partnership rights
First transgender candidate for public office in Ireland
Granted adoptive leave to male same sex couples
Work is ongoing to ban the practice of so-called “conversion therapy”. This is a practice rooted in the promotion of shame and which aims to deny people’s very identity, and we have brought forward legislation to ban the practice outright.
The Government has published strong and effective Hate Crime legislation, which will punish certain offences which are motivated by hatred. This new law will finally ensure that such crimes are recognised and punished as such.
The first comprehensive review of Ireland’s equality legislation in 20 years is being conducted to ensure the laws are effectively protecting people from prejudice and discrimination. As part of this review, we will amend the legislation in order to protect people from discrimination on the basis of their gender identity.
In 2022, €1,202,132 was allocated to support 26 LGBTI+ community projects, including a pilot free legal aid clinic.
An Garda Síochána is taking action to increase LGBTI+ awareness and support among frontline officers.
Legislation was amended to rectify an anomaly that left married male same-sex couples unable to avail of adoptive leave.
Research is being undertaken on supports for the parents of LGBTI+ youth; research on LGBTI+ people with a disability; understanding Ageing in the LGBTI+ Population; Recognising Preferred Gender for Under 16s; and a national survey on attitudes across all the equality grounds.
Equality
The Green Party stands for an equal and just society that upholds rights and values diversity.
