The Irish Prison Service (IPS)’s long-awaited policy guidance on the appropriate housing of trans inmates has been delayed further, as officials struggle to identify a suitable model. Despite two years of research into policies in other jurisdictions, officials have yet to find an approach that they say “balances prisoners’ rights with the safety of inmates and staff while remaining cost-effective.” 

Sources indicate that most officials favour a flexible, case-by-case approach, prioritising security concerns while ensuring fair treatment for transgender prisoners. The absence of a formal policy has led to other measures including general guidelines, with prison staff expected to treat all inmates with dignity and respect, including using their preferred names and pronouns. In 2021, additional guidance from Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) was made available on the staff intranet portal.

A representative from the IPS told The Irish Times that another factor in the delay is a decision to widen the report’s scope to include “supports for gender diversity in the prison environment more broadly“.

Under the Gender Recognition Act 2015, individuals in Ireland can self-identify their gender without medical or physical requirements. Currently, if a prisoner has legally changed their gender, they are placed in a facility corresponding to that gender.

However, the IPS retains discretion to transfer inmates when they deem necessary. According to IPS’s official website, decisions take into account factors “such as biological sex, legal gender, gender identity, gender expression, and prison security considerations.”

To date, this action has been exercised twice in the case of trans prisoners. In March 2021, then-Minister for Justice Helen McEntee approved the transfer of a trans woman to a male facility.

Meanwhile, in a separate case in 2023, a 22-year-old trans woman who was originally held in Limerick Women’s Prison was accused of threatening to cause serious harm to a fellow inmate and a prison officer. Although she was acquitted of all charges, she is currently being held in the D1 Unit of the men’s prison in Limerick.