Support for trans people and trans issues remains strong despite fear mongering, a trans activist has stated.

One of the central flash points on both sides of the Atlantic in terms of politics has been the issue of rights for transgender people.

In the US, measures are being actively taken to roll back those rights, while in Ireland, the topic seems to have moved off the agenda for many politicians.

On Moncrieff, trans activist Jenny Maguire said that despite trans rights being used as a “hot button topic”, support for the community is still high.

“We see constant surveys going out that the support of trans people in the general public is still high,” she said.

“Most people around the whole world still want their Governments to do more to protect the rights and increase the rights of transgender people.”

Ms Maguire said trans people are being “used” in the media in the same way gay people were used during the AIDs epidemic.

“Gay people were used in the 80s in the media as this hot button thing that we can focus on, that we can get people to read newspapers, to share, to retweet, to this, that and the other and to focus on,” she said.

“That's kind of created this false world that trans people are, you know, the number one threat to the biggest economy in the world in the United States.”

Transgender flag at the university of Glasgow. Image: Alamy

Ms Maguire said the myth that “everyone and their Ma is turning trans” is simply untrue - due to the length of the health care waiting lists.

“You often hear the big, scary stories of ‘everyone and their Ma is turning trans and all the kids are trans’, but currently we don't offer any health care whatsoever if you were under the age of 18 in Ireland,” she said.

“We have a waiting list, if you're over the age of 18, that's 10 years long.

“So if you wanted to apply today it would take you 10 years to even get to go into the room to talk about it, let alone then maybe getting accepted after hours of psychological evaluation.

“We have very conservative, constricted rights for trans people in Ireland, the gender recognition act is very strong and sets us apart in that, but in terms of the provision of healthcare is just not touched.”

Anti Transgender Protest outside the Dail today over porn books in the child section on libraries.11/07/2023 Photo: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Ms Maguire said there has been a shift away from advancing trans rights within the Programme for Government.

“There's been numerous commitments over the years to expand the Gender Recognition Act,” she said.

“We had in the 2020 Programme for Government a commitment to expand it to not just over 18 but over 16 for legal gender and name recognition and there was a commitment for health care that would be informed by the community and that wouldn't treat being trans as a mental illness.

“But in the latest Programme for Government, none of that is there - there has been a step away, a silencing, a fear to say the word trans and this has a real effect on a community that, though incredibly small, less than 1% of the population, is incredibly vulnerable.”

Trans right flag mural in Chancery Street, Dublin, Ireland, July 2022. Image: Alamy

Ms Maguire said politicians are afraid to talk about the topic of trans rights.

“I'm getting phone calls from politicians who then, when I give them advice on how to respond to [a situation] or what to do… they won't talk about it publicly because they're afraid,” she said.

“They wouldn't say [in exact words], I'm too afraid to speak out about this - they say ‘I'll see what we can say or instead of saying trans, I’ll say gay, or I'll say LGBT’ but they're specifically talking about trans people.

“This is the fear and this is what is controlling the conversation.”

LGBTQ+ organizations held a protest outside the Dáil, calling for urgent reforms in Ireland’s trans healthcare system. 25/10/2025 Photograph: Leah Farrell / © RollingNews.ie

Ms Maguire said the majority of trans people are calling for a new, less distressing system in Ireland to attain gender affirming care.

She stated that more people regret getting a knee transplant than getting gender affirming care.

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Jenny Maguire takes part in a pro transgender rally outside Leinster House in Dublin. Picture date: Saturday September 16, 2023. Image: Alamy