A TRANSGENDER sex offender who was born a man has been moved to an all-female prison, despite not having surgery.
The inmate, who identifies as a woman, was originally detained in the Dóchas Centre in Dublin, but has since been transferred to a women-only facility in Co. Limerick.
It's understood that she has not underdone any surgery, not is she receiving any hormonal therapy.
It's believed that this is the first time that a transgender prisoner has been accommodated by the prison service.
Despite being born a man, she was in possession of a gender recognition certificate by the time her case came before the court last July.
Under the Gender Recognition Act 2015, the inmate can be fully recognised as a female.
Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan explained in Parliament recently that the gender identity, sexual orientation and other personal classifications of all prisoners are assessed upon committal, and the prison system must abide by the law.
"The Irish Prison Service must accept all prisoners into custody into whatever prison a judge orders,” said Flanagan.
"All prisoners are brought to the reception/committal unit of the prison, where there is an opportunity to provide personal and physical details as part of the regular committal interview process.
"The assessment of the prisoner’s needs may require the prison governor to consider the biological gender, legal gender, gender identity, transgender, gender expression, sexual orientation or gender recognition legislation."
In such cases, recommendations regarding the placement of the inmate within the prison system with regard to protection issues, security issues, available accommodation, and the healthcare needs of the prisoner are made.
