Dublin MEP Regina Doherty has said she is not sure if evidence she gave in the Seanad in 2022 that there are nine genders would stand up to scrutiny today, after being criticised by Senator Michael McDowell.
On RTÉ's The Week in Politics, Ms Doherty was asked about Independent Senator McDowell’s article in the Irish Times earlier this week.
In the article, Senator McDowell said: "To the best of my knowledge, neither she nor any of her colleagues in government ever attempted to enumerate these other genders, despite many requests that they should do so."
Ms Doherty said she normally would not respond when someone tries to make a political weapon of an issue, but added:
"For all my political life what I’ve tried to do is to support transgender people, to support people who have a medical condition, that are undergoing a transition, that are exceptionally vulnerable, and all they're trying to do is to live a normal life, the same way as you and I would.
"That's something that we probably take for granted, when I see politicians trying to polarise and politicise this issue ... it makes me really sad."
Ms Doherty was Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a review of the Gender Recognition Act was carried out in 2017.
Speaking on the programme in Brussels, Ms Doherty said: "These are vulnerable people, there’s a tiny percentage of the population, but unfortunately it's growing that have been treated by our gender services, and we need to treat them with respect, notwithstanding the issues that women have raised.
"You don't need to address women's issues by politicising people who have a medical condition who are exceptionally vulnerable, as Michael McDowell has sought to do, and I think that's a real pity, and it's not something that I've ever done, and I mightn't have got everything right, and I really don't know, you know, whether the evidence that I gave based on the interactions that I had with TENI at the time would stand up today."
Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) represents transgender people and their families and advocated for Minister Doherty (as she was at the time) to lower the age of gender self-identification.
The article by Senator McDowell followed a decision by the UK Supreme Court that ruled that sex is binary, and that the legal definition of a woman and a man are based on biological sex at birth.
Following that decision, Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane said on social media that the ruling was "common sense", an opinion he later withdrew.
Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan was asked about her party colleague on The Week in Politics.
She said that Deputy Cullinane was right to withdraw the remarks.
"I have trans people in my circle of friends and have known trans people for years. Trans people exist, and that's what they want, is the right to exist. And I feel that they're now being, it's been completely weaponised.
"They're under attack on all fronts. And we need to show compassion and empathy for the trans community, who are getting dragged into fights and political rows that they don't even want to be involved in, and I will always stand by the trans community."
Pressed on whether she represented the Sinn Féin position, Ms Boylan said: "We have had our Ard Fheis motions in terms of gender recognition and the right of people to express their gender, and that is party policy."
