TRANSGENDER PEOPLE WHO move to Ireland from other countries are being told by the National Gender Service (NGS) they must join the waitlist and go through their assessment process before accessing healthcare in Ireland.

This is despite having legally changed their gender and previously accessed gender-affirming care in their home countries.

The NGS is requiring people who have already transitioned to join a years-long waitlist and prove they are ‘transgender enough’ once again.

The Journal Investigates has spoken to almost 20 transgender adults about their experiences with accessing transgender healthcare in Ireland.

Earlier this week, people told us the questioning that takes place during NGS assessments can feel traumatic and upsetting. These questions include asking about what pornography they watch or details about their sexual lives with their partners.

The NGS is the only provider of healthcare to transgender adults in Ireland.

The clinical lead for transgender healthcare in Iceland, Dr Beth McElrea, told The Journal Investigates that in her expert opinion, questions like these are “completely inappropriate”. This is because best practice, informed by the WHO guidelines, has moved away from this type of evaluation.

Since 2019, the World Health Organisation no longer views being transgender as a mental or behavioural disorder. Instead, they now see it as relating to a person’s sexual health.

The assessments were also described as “interrogations” by those who went through them and they felt compelled to share intimate details about themselves for fear of being denied healthcare.