“The HSE must base healthcare on science, not Ideology” O’Flynn
“If you are an elderly patient stuck on a trolley for 3 days I suspect that pronouns are the last thing on your mind - whoever is driving this nonsense should think about that”
Independent Ireland TD Ken O’Flynn has criticised HSE pronoun training as “ideologically driven” and called on the Minister for Health to set out the Department’s official position on sex and gender.
“I believe we have a duty to treat everyone with respect and dignity, including those in the transgender community,” Deputy O’Flynn said. “But respect cannot mean discarding reality. Biological sex is not an opinion. It is an observable fact, written into chromosomes and present in every cell of the human body. To suggest that sex ‘can change over time’ is not science — it is ideology dressed up as policy.”
Deputy O’Flynn warned that this confusion undermines patient care.
“Medicine depends on clarity. If our health service cannot speak honestly about the difference between male and female, how can it speak honestly about diagnosis, treatment, or prognosis? Patients deserve straightforward language — a mother should be recognised as a mother, a father as a father. That is not intolerance; it is truth. And truth is essential in healthcare. I find it astounding that the HSE is putting time and resources into this considering the multiple crises faced by patients in trying to access care across the length and breadth of Ireland. If you are an elderly patient stuck on a trolley for 3 days I suspect that pronouns are the last thing on your mind - whoever is driving this nonsense should think about that”
He strongly criticised HSE guidance that staff who do not use certain pronouns may require “re-education.”
“Re-education has no place in a democratic health service. Our doctors, nurses, and staff should not be forced into ideological conformity. Their role is to care for patients, not to affirm theories that have no basis in medical science. Public money should be spent on reducing waiting lists, fixing emergency departments, and supporting frontline staff — not on indoctrination.”
Deputy O’Flynn confirmed he has tabled a series of Parliamentary Questions demanding a clear statement from the Minister for Health on what her Department officially recognises as sex and gender, the cost of these training modules, and the medical evidence they are based on.
“Ireland can be a society that treats people with compassion, while also standing firmly on the side of truth. The Minister now has a responsibility to restore clarity. Healthcare must be guided by evidence-based science, not by contested ideology.”
