A new bill that could see the imprisonment of 'gay conversion' therapy practitioners has advanced through Ireland’s legislature, with the bill passing its second stage in the Seanad on Wednesday.
Senator Fintan Warfield from Sinn Féin, a left-wing Irish republican political party, welcomed the news, saying it was an important step in the right direction.
Local LGBTIQ+ support groups and organisations were quick to come out in support of the move, urging Senators to support Warfield's Prohibition of Conversion Therapies Bill and bring an end to the "distressing and deeply harmful" practice.
“There is an important international dimension to this, which sends solidarity to Brazil and elsewhere, where this practice is ongoing. Ireland can be a beacon of hope for oppressed people everywhere,” Senator Warfield said, according to reports from GCN.
He continued: “This would be the most the most comprehensive prohibition of conversion therapies in the world."
“It prohibits any person from offering or giving conversion therapy to another person. It also prohibits moving someone out of the state, a young person most likely, for the purposes of conversion therapy.”
You can watch Senator Fintan Warfield speak about the bill below:
