‘Conversion therapy’ continues to exist in Ireland, despite opposition from medical bodies and repeated calls for a legal ban.

The dangerous practice that seeks to ‘change’ the gender identity or sexual orientation of individuals has been widely debunked and rejected by a large number of psychological and psychiatric organisations, including the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the European Psychiatric Association.

The Prohibition of Conversion Therapies Bill 2018 was introduced in Ireland and presented to the Seanad by Senator Fintan Warfield in April 2018 as a private members’ bill. It sought to prohibit so-called ‘conversion therapy’, a deceptive and harmful practice against a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression.

The bill passed its second reading in the Seanad in May 2018 but did not complete all stages before the dissolution of the Dáil and Seanad ahead of the 2020 general election.

A draft of new government legislation to ban the practice and make provision for criminal offences was first brought to Cabinet by Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth Roderic O’Gorman in June 2023.

On 16 January 2024, the government published its Legislation Programme for Spring 2024, listing the planned ‘conversion therapy’ ban in Ireland as a priority bill for publication.

In the same year, the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland, the Psychological Society of Ireland and the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy signed a memorandum renouncing the practice. In a joint statement, the groups said there is “no place in a modern, progressive society for conversion therapy”. All three groups described it as “unethical, potentially harmful and not supported by evidence”.

Despite condemnation from healthcare bodies and the Government’s commitment to enact a legal ban, there is currently no law in Ireland prohibiting the practice.

While the bill may have stalled, the work of LGBTQ+ organisations has not, as they continue to highlight both the harm caused by the practice and the urgent need to address it on a legislative level.

In 2023, Belong To issued a statement saying a ban would be particularly important for LGBTQ+ youth. “Under the Mental Health Act, those under 18 do not have the right to refuse mental health treatment, including conversion practices, once their parent has consented,” the group said at the time. “It is also important that this legislation complements the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act, to ensure that social media companies fulfil their responsibility to remove advertisements for this harmful practice.”

Last year, a petition calling for an EU ban garnered over one million signatures and was put before the European Commission. In response, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen wrote a letter stating that the EU’s equality commissioner, Hadja Lahbib, has been instructed to develop a new LGBTQ+ strategy that will include a ban on the practice.

Speaking about the issue on International Day to End Conversion Therapy, Adam Long, Board Director of the National LGBTQ+ Federation (NXF), stated: “So-called ‘conversion therapy’ is an inherently abusive practice and recognised as a form of torture against LGBTQ+ people. It has no place in any civilised society. Yet, shockingly, it is still occurring under various guises, including here in Ireland.”

He continued: “On the occasion of International Day to End Conversion Therapy, we strongly reaffirm our call for these abhorrent practices to be subject to a full and comprehensive legislative ban, absent from any loopholes that would enable them to continue in practice.

“We are calling on the government to honour its commitment contained in both the current and previous Programme for Government to enact such a ban without further delay, which will see Ireland join the growing number of countries that have already outlawed this so-called ‘therapy’ targeting a person’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression.”

In the UK, ‘conversion therapy’ is currently legal; however, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Labour’s plan to ban the practice in 2024. The political party said the proposed bill will be a “full, trans-inclusive ban” but “must not cover legitimate psychological support, treatment, or non-directive counselling.”

However, little progress has been made on the bill since then, and it remains up for debate in the House of Lords.