On Monday, November 10, grassroots organisation Transgress the NGS held a demonstration called ‘Say No To the NGS 2.0’ outside the Dáil, where activists protested the “complete inadequacy of the proposed new model of trans healthcare in Ireland.” The protest involved a mock trial and execution of the National Gender Service (NGS), the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Department of Health.
On the purpose of the demonstration, Transgress the NGS activist Fiadh Tubridy shared, “Our protest on November 10th at 14:00 at Dáil Éireann will bring more attention to the dire state of the proposed New Model of Care as well as highlight the anger felt among the trans community about this missed opportunity to bring about meaningful reform, such as informed consent, to a deeply flawed and wholly inadequate healthcare service.”
They went on, “We simply will not accept the National Gender Service 2.0.” This comes after the group’s open letter to Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, critiquing the current proposed model, reached over 2,200 signatures.
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Within the past few weeks, there have been significant developments regarding the progress of the new Model of Care (MoC). Firstly, both Trans Healthcare Action and the Professional Association for Trans Health Ireland (PATHI) publicly announced in October that they would be resigning from the HSE’s MoC working group.
Trans Healthcare Action explained, “We do not feel that the development of the model has followed its stated values of experience and clinical evidence, respect, inclusiveness or compassion.”
PATHI’s comment was: “We cannot in good faith continue to participate in as we do not feel the draft Model of Care thus developed aligns with what we envision as the future of gender healthcare in Ireland.”
Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI), Belong To Youth Services and LGBT Ireland currently remain part of the working group, and published a collective statement in response on October 12. It states, “We are staying to continue working towards this shared vision from within this structure. We believe there is change possible through this process, and we are committed to continuing to push for change.”
Executive Director of TENI, Daire Dempsey, added in this statement that “We need to fix this crisis for everyone on the waiting list, everyone being mistreated within gender services, everyone paying for private services, everyone DIYing, everyone without access to healthcare at all – for all of us.”
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Furthermore, recently representatives from TENI, LGBT Ireland and Belong To met with Minister Carroll MacNeill and Minister Butler to discuss the need for a new draft of the Model. In a social media post, TENI shared: “We had a long conversation with Minister Butler, who agreed on the need for a new draft that is self-affirmative, inclusive and accessible, in line with commitments in the Programme for Government. This new draft is now in process.”
This news was largely received positively online by members of the LGBTQ+ community, though there are some who remain sceptical.
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As the end of 2026 nears, trans and non-binary activists and the wider community in Ireland sit in anticipation of what the new year will offer for gender-affirming healthcare.
You can read Transgress the NGS’ open letter here.
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