149 Trans People Have Their Gender Officially Recognised by Ireland

IN THE FIRST nine months since new legislation was introduced, 149 people have been granted permission to legally register as a different gender from that noted at their birth.

Of the 149 gender recognition certificates issued, four were granted to applicants who were aged 16 and 17 years old. Twenty-one were issued to non-Irish born residents of the State.

One hundred people subsequently requested a new birth certificate to change the record of their gender at birth. This was done thro

ugh the Register of Gender Recognition maintained by the General Register Office.

A total of 18 passports were issued to people who have received the recognition certs. Three of those were to people under the age of 18.


The figures were published by the Department of Social Protection today and cover the period from 4 September 2015 to 30 June 2016.

The 2015 laws allow for a person to be formally recognised in their preferred gender. There have been no applications rejected since the commencement of the Act, and no certificates have been revoked.

According to the department, “There has been very positive feedback from clients in respect of the timely and professional manner in which applications have been dealt with since the commencement of the Act.”

The need to introduce legislation stemmed from a High Court order in March 2008 which declared that certain sections of the Civil Registration Act 2004 were incompatible with Ireland’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Today is being marked by the transgender community across the world as International Transgender Day of Remembrance. The day was set aside to remember those who have died as a result of hatred or prejudice, its organisers say.

Source: The Journal.ie

Irish Passport Applications from Britain Have Doubled Over Past Two months

The number of Irish passport applications from people living in Britain has more than doubled in the past two months since the Brexit vote.

New figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin show that number of applications in August and September rose by more than 100 per cent on the previous year.

In September 2015 there were 3,431 Irish passport applications received from Great Britain compared to 7,518 from the same month this year - a rise of almost 120 per cent.

Applications from Northern Ireland have increased by two thirds since the UK voted to leave the European Union in June's landmark vote.

In August there was an almost 80 per cent increase in the number of applications from 2015, while last month there were 4,126 applications made, compared to 2,549 in September 2015, an increase of more than 60 per cent.

Since the Brexit vote on June 23 there has been a steady rise in demand for Irish passports.

In the immediate aftermath post offices across the north reported a surge of interest, with some branches even running out of forms due to unprecedented demand.

The Irish News reported in July how the high level of demand had affected the operation of Northern Ireland’s General Register Office, which handles the documents for all births, deaths and marriages.

Research work at the Belfast office was restricted in the weeks following the referendum as the need for birth certificates from people applying for Irish passports soared.

As part of the Good Friday Agreement everyone in Northern Ireland is entitled to both British and Irish citizenship.

Source: Gareth McKeown, The Irish News