I welcome the groups in the Gallery who have come to listen to this debate. I hope it proves inspiring from all of us to you. Pride, or Bród, month began with the bravery of a demonstration in Dublin in 1974. A group of men and women protested against the archaic laws of the 1800s that criminalised homosexual relations. It was not until 1993 that it was decriminalised, marking a significant step towards LGBTQI rights in Ireland. Another significant step towards equality was taken by ICTU in 1986, which produced and implemented a radical policy for the time regarding lesbian and gay rights in the workplace. This paved the way for progressive legislation, including the hatred Act, equality in all public sector employment, sexual orientation on the basis of equality in 1993, the Equal Status Act 2000 and many other laws. I am a member of the Oireachtas rainbow caucus and we are progressing plans to mark the 40th anniversary of ICTU's progressive role in promoting equal rights. It was the beginning of a safer work environment, which made a huge difference to the lives of LGBT people of the time. Decriminalisation, led by the indomitable Senator Norris and others, including my pal, Kieran Rose, went on for 16 years but did not expunge prior convictions. My colleague, Deputy Ó Snodaigh, introduced legislation to do so, known as the disregard Bill. It has passed all Stages in this Chamber and is working its way through the Seanad. It will be enacted in the next few weeks before the recess. It is another milestone in righting wrongs. The rise of hate crime and anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric worldwide by bad actors is calculated to reverse hard fought human rights gains. It is a hateful and destructive narrative, fed by some world leaders. It is divisive and damages the human spirit. The manosphere narrows the mind and seeks to regress human civil rights and dignity. It is amplified by the increase in online and offline hate. It is a mammoth task to counteract this as a global political shift to the right is happening. Homophobic and transphobic rhetoric is seeping more and more into the public domain. We can never let our guard down. It needs to be called out. In 2015, marriage equality was a momentous and proud moment for Ireland, the first country to legislate for this by a referendum of the people. Those glorious days which were celebrated and embraced seem to have dwindled since then, with Trump and his cohort and Brexit and xenophobia playing their part as civil rights are being rolled back. Bród has come a long way. June is the month of celebration and Pride continues its success. More work is required. Nothing is ever done and dusted. Things evolve, damage is repaired and wrongs are corrected. Ireland's transgender healthcare is a mess. The National Gender Service is not fit for purpose. Trans people deserve care based on international best practice. Everybody has the right to safety, integrity of identity and happiness. Conversion therapy, which is abhorrent and has inflicted so much suffering, is another breach of human rights. The former Sinn Féin Senator, Fintan Warfield, introduced a Bill to ban it, as did Sinn Féin Minister of Communities, Deirdre Hargey, in the Six Counties. This legislation is the antidote to the barbaric and medieval practice of conversion. There is much to be positive about. A debate was part of a Pride event on Monday. It discussed statistics showing that we have evolved from a dark place of fear to an LGBT community that is more accepted and we are up there with the top countries in Europe. There is an accepting and welcoming involvement by all of us in shaping our society and island and respecting an Ireland for all.

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