Equality Minister Norma Foley has announced €1.5m in new money in pursuit of the Government’s “National LGBTIQ+ Inclusion Strategy”.
Under the grant scheme, organisations already in receipt of taxpayers’ money for work with the “LGBTIQ+ community” may apply for funding “to support new initiatives and to maintain and enhance existing services and initiatives”. New applicants may also access small grants for projects that promote LGBT “visibility and inclusion”.
As part of its LGBT strategy, the Government has already promised a ‘conversion practices’ ban before the end of 2026, and a working group on “providing legal recognition” for people who self-identify as ‘non-binary’.
‘Belong To’
Prior to the announcement, during Seanad business in February, Senator Sarah O’Reilly asked why the Department of Education had “given just under €500,000 to the LGBTQ+ organisation Belong To”.
She questioned the appropriateness of giving public money to an organisation that has been “rightly condemned for spreading misinformation, for advising children not to tell their parents if they use a chest binder and for encouraging young people to speak only with trusted adults. These trusted adults are, of course, only those who are affirmative of their gender transition.”
The Senator added: “We can teach our children to be respectful and kind without forcing them to go against what is biologically true. We have a duty to ensure that what we teach children is grounded in best practice and appropriate for their age and stage of development.”
In 2024, Belong To received 36 per cent of its income (€870,128) from Government bodies, including the Department of Education, the Health Safety Executive, and the Department of Rural and Community Development.
Transgender ideology
Last year, the Dáil was told that improved measures are needed to help keep children safe from “dangerous ideologies and political activism”.
Campaign groups representing teachers, women, families and parents urged Deputies to do more to protect children from the “harmful influence” of transgender ideology, pornography, and explicit sex education material.
In a letter to the Dáil, the Natural Women’s Council, Parents Rights Alliance, Irish Education Alliance and Catholic Secondary School Parents Association raised serious concerns around Ireland’s educational and health policies.
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