Ireland LGBT+ Caucus relaunches with new chair

The Global Equality Caucus (GEC) has joined parliamentarians in the Republic of Ireland for the AGM of the Irish LGBT+ Caucus, a cross-party group in the national parliament focused on advancing LGBT+ rights.

GEC Chair Lord Herbert, accompanied by GEC Head of Operations Andrew Slinn, met with members from both Houses of the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) in Dublin for discussions about inclusive laws in Ireland and to exchange knowledge about common experiences across Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Key themes that were covered included the rising pushback against LGBT+ inclusion, government commitments to advance bans on conversion practices, and failings in the delivery of healthcare for trans people.

Ahead of the meeting, GEC met with Minister Jerry Buttimer - who serves on GEC’s Steering Committee - and with members of the Oireachtas Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team to align on shared organisational priorities for the next few years, including a desire to improve connections between different national parliamentary LGBT+ caucuses and amplify their work.

GEC also met with former Taoiseach (prime minister) Leo Varadkar to note his personal role in developing inclusive laws in the country.

(L-R): Jerry Buttimer TD, Lord Herbert of South Downs and Senator Laura Harmon address the AGM of the Oireachtas LGBT+ Caucus

As guest speaker at the AGM, Lord Herbert commended the progress on LGBT+ rights in Ireland and the effectiveness of the Oireachtas LGBT+ Caucus in sustaining cross-party support, but warned of mounting international anti-rights narratives to which Ireland is not immune, pledging that GEC will work together with Irish parliamentarians to safeguard against a rollback of rights.

Concluding the meeting, members welcomed Senator Laura Harmon as the new Chair for the current parliamentary term. GEC looks forward to continuing our partnership with the Irish LGBT+ Caucus and working closely with Senator Harmon on our shared mission.