A group representing people with gender identity disorder has criticised the Government's lack of progress on implementing recommendations made in a report issued in 2004.
Access to Health Services for Transsexual People was produced by the Equality Authority and highlighted the lack of health support services for people with gender identity disorder (GID).
It made a series of recommendations on improving services and said the Department of Health should have a formal policy and develop standards for care and treatment.
However, Gender Identity Disorder Ireland (GIDI) said not one recommendation had been fully implemented since then and it claimed the Government was "shameful" in the way it had "totally neglected" the issue.
Lynda Sheridan, GIDI support co-ordinator, said that even the title of the Equality Authority report was outdated, as the term "transsexualism" was no longer used by the World Health Organisation or medical experts because it caused confusion and prejudice.
Ms Sheridan said gender identity disorder was a medical condition, not a lifestyle choice and the process of changing gender was a very painful one. "You are born with this, you do not have a choice," she said.
GIDI is calling for at least three centres of excellence around the country for people with GID, and their families. Ms Sheridan said there were currently only two consultant psychiatrists and one clinical psychologist with expertise in the area, for the whole country. She also called for financial support for GIDI.
Niall Crowley, Equality Authority chief executive said the issues raised in the 2004 report could only be dealt with in dialogue between the transgender organisations and the Health Service Executive.
He said it was hoped that a medical symposium would soon be held to help the HSE to develop best practice in this area.
A spokeswoman for the HSE said it had set up a sub group to look specifically at the social inclusion of the gay, lesbian,bisexual and transgender communities. This would "enable the HSE to identify any potential gaps in service provision".
Last summer, the Irish Medical Journal published a study which found that 52 people with GID had been referred to Dublin hospitals for hormonal treatment over a five-year period.
See www.gidi.ie for support information.
