The party’s manifesto has two pages on ‘Real Gender Equality’, that urges “ending the rigid gender binary.”
It says that: “Trans and non-binary peoppe continuie to face extremely high levels of stigmatisation and marginalisation.”
Asked if it followed that biological males should be welcomed into women’s sport, Paul Murphy TD responded: “We support and are advocates of trans rights.
“Trans people are some of the most discriminated against, oppressed people in our country, with very high rates, unfortunately, of self harm and suicide – not as a result of being trans, but of a society which discriminates and doesn’t respect trans people.”
Mr Murphy said Ireland had progressive gender recognition legislation earlier than most countries in the run up to the same sex marriage referendum, whereby people were able to have their preferred gender recognised in law, “and the sun did not fall out of the sky.”
He added: “There was no there was no controversy in Irish society. Absolutely everyone was fine with it, because people know people.
“It’s interesting that there has been an attempt to artificially inject a debate around trans rights into Ireland, which has effectively come from a major debate in Britain.
“There was an effort to inject this and to suggest that there is some problem with trans people, that trans people represent some sort of threat to non- trans people, and we just reject that such is the case at all.
“This is like classic diversionary stuff from those who are really in charge – you know, the likes of Elon Musk, the richest people in the world, spreading panic and fear about trans people and LGBTQ people in general, suggesting that this is the problem facing our society, as opposed to billionaires taking more and more money.”
On the controversy over Olympic boxer Imane Khelif, Mr Murphy made the point that she was not trans, but a cis woman. An Italian boxer pulled out of a bout after 45 seconds saying it was “not fair,” but later apologised for suggesting she was fighting a man. Khelif won gold.
Mr Murphy said: “She was not trans. So what happened around Imane Khelif actually illustrates that the attack on trans rights is about enforcing this rigid gender binary.
“Even though she was born with female genitalia, and not a trans woman, she was faced with this barrage, including by sections of the media, that was interested in lifting things up.
“The point I’d make in terms of trans rights in Ireland is that there’s a big gap between the on-paper rights of people to have their gender recognised and the reality of trans health services, where we’re literally at the bottom.”
People Before Profit was “in favour of bridging that gap in terms of the legal rights that exist on paper with actual resources to actually support trans people.”
Richard Boyd Barrett confirmed: “Everybody should be welcomed into sports.”
Outgoing PBP TD Bríd Smith commented: “It’s not a binary question. I think Paul did a good, comprehensive answer to it.”
Senan Molony