Irish Govt commits to ‘advancing’ conversion therapy legislation

The new Irish Government has said it will “Advance legislation to ban conversion practices” in its Programme for Government.

The draft Programme was agreed last week, and officially endorsed by Fianna Fáil on Sunday, which has partnered with Fine Gael and several independent TDs to form the new coalition Government.

Controversial legislation on ‘conversion therapy’ was first brought as a Private Member’s Bill in 2018, but it failed to get the necessary Government support after legal advice concluded it was “not clear enough in its language”.

Under the last Government, Equalities Minister Roderic O’Gorman had been committed to bringing a Government Bill, but never managed to draft legislation that was “constitutionally secure”.

He told the Irish Times: “I wanted to make sure it covered quasi-religious practices and quasi-therapeutic practices, and to ensure those very necessary conversations that take place when someone is exploring their gender identity or sexual orientation wouldn’t be impacted.

“Balancing those elements is proving tricky in terms of getting those clear legal definitions. We want legislation that is effective and robust and safe from legal challenge. I can’t give absolute certainty today but we are working to introduce this legislation within the lifetime of this Government.”

Despite the Bill being deemed significant enough for ‘priority drafting’, the problems proved impossible to overcome.

The new promise to ‘advance’ – rather than to ‘pass’ – legislation suggests there are serious doubts about whether it can even be done.

This isn’t surprising, since lawyers have repeatedly said any legislation of this sort would trample human rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights. Some of these rights are likewise guarded by the Irish Constitution.

The freedom to seek prayer and pastoral care from church leaders, and the right and responsibility of parents to bring up their children in accordance with their beliefs, remain at risk of criminalisation.

Fianna Fáil, which won the most seats in the Election, included a commitment to ‘conversion therapy’ legislation in its manifesto. It promised to: “Enact legislation to ban conversion practices that violate individual rights.”

That seems to have been watered down in the Programme for Government. We can presume it is not a priority for day one. Let’s hope it never sees the light of day.