Introduction

What this guide does

This guide is designed to help trans people speak with their local and national elected representatives, both from a position of self advocacy, but also on broader advocacy goals surrounding trans healthcare in Ireland.

It covers:

• How to find and reach out to your politicians.

• How to write an email to your politicians.

• How to call your politician’s office.

• How to seek a meeting with them.

• How to prepare for a meeting with them.

• Advice for during a meeting.

• Some resources you could provide your politicians with.

What this guide doesn’t do

• Tell you who your politicians are

• Provide a comprehensive background on all the issues facing trans people

• Provide fully formed healthcare policies.

• Provide answers to every question your politician may ask you

Getting Started

Why do it?

Trans people deserve the right to bodily autonomy, as well as safe, affordable healthcare. We need trans healthcare services like hormone therapy accessible to anyone seeking care, without waitlists or gatekeeping.

That’s why it’s essential for you to inform your political representatives about the need for local, accessible, informed consent-based trans healthcare.

Reaching Out

How do I find my politician?

You can find contact information for your TDs or Senators on oireachtas.ie. Your MEPs can be found on europarl.europa.eu.  Your City/County Councillors can be found on your local authority website. They may offer regular office hours, so that you can call or visit them in person. While an email or call may be effective, we've found scheduling an appointment with your elected representative is the most effective way to capture their attention.

It’s a good idea to learn about the politician by searching their name and “trans”/”non-binary”, online or in parliamentary debates to get a feel for their position before contacting them. Individual history first, party history second. Allies can come from surprising places.

It's okay to skip politicians with red flags, such as anti-abortion or anti-gay marriage statements or activities.

Knowing your audience

Be aware of different representative remits - politicians are elected to represent you at different levels of local, national and international democracy, but also have their own specialist areas of interest and sometimes expertise. Having these facts in mind before you even start writing an email can be very beneficial in grabbing their attention:

• City/County Councillors can’t directly affect change on a national level, but may be useful for influencing party policy more broadly.

• TDs can affect change on a national level, e.g. by directing scrutiny at members of the Government for opposition TDs, or directly proposing new legislative changes for Government TDs.

• Senators primarily review legislation, but can be influential in their party and on Oireachtas committees/panels.

• Find out if your TD/Senator is a spokesperson for a given issue (ideally Health or Equality), and if they sit on a relevant Oireachtas committee, this will allow them to bring your issue to a wider audience, and potentially influence politicians from outside your constituency or from different parties.

• MEPs can influence EU policy, which may have implications at the Irish level, and they are also influential in their parties.

How do I write an advocacy email?

An example of a basic advocacy email might be as follows:

Dear Councillor/Deputy/Senator/MEP [Name],

My name is [Name] and I am a constituent of yours in Constituency [Location]. I am reaching out to request a meeting with you at your earliest convenience in your constituency clinic to discuss the matter of trans healthcare.

This is a matter which directly impacts on me and close friends and family, and it is particularly distressing to me given the dire state of trans healthcare in Ireland today (cite relevant articles e.g. from the Journal). 

I look forward to your reply and speaking to you on this matter.

Kind regards,

[Your Name]

How do I call their office?

Once you have found the phone number for their constituency office on the relevant website, prepare some brief notes with some talking points. The secretary who will answer your call will likely only take very basic details from you, so keep your ask short and to the point, something like this:

“Hello, my name is [Name], I’m a constituent of Councillor/Deputy/Senator/MEP [Name], I’m just ringing to ask if it would be possible to arrange a constituency office with them in the next [X timeframe] to discuss the issue of trans healthcare, as this is a matter that’s very important to me?”

Following this, your details will be taken and either they will call/email you back to arrange a meeting, or arrange a provisional date and time there and then.

How do I request a meeting?

• Write an email with the subject “Seeking a constituency meeting”.

• Put the ask on the very first line of the email – this might be all they see from their inbox.

• Make it clear which side you're on – clearly state you are a trans person or ally who wants to discuss the failures of the current system.

• Share a 1-sentence summary of personal experience.

• List the topics you want to talk about, but avoid too much detail. Make your knowledge/experience the focus.

• Keep asks simple – e.g. “I would love to meet with you for a constituent meeting at your earliest availability.” You can ask for more direct support during the meeting.

Planning for the meeting

How should I prepare?

• Plan for 30 mins. If it runs longer, expand.

• Choose what points to raise – you only have time to make 2-3 points properly.

• Back up points with personal anecdotes –  people remember stories better than stats and numbers.

• If you have no personal anecdotes, prepare to use stories from friends or family. Keep in mind, however, that this is less effective.

• You can also familiarise yourself with more high-profile examples, or the articles on trans healthcare by Conor O’Carroll in The Journal, or Jes Black in The Beacon.

• Familiarise yourself with successful informed consent models (e.g. Iceland, Australia, New Zealand) and some of the organisations that support this approach (e.g. WPATH, PATHI) to discuss during the meeting.

• Have actionable asks of the politician, e.g. Will they submit parliamentary questions? Will they raise the issue within their party? Will they speak to advocacy groups?

• Print out THA's policy brief to offer to them.

During the meeting

What should I say to my politician?

Talk to your politician about why an informed consent model for trans healthcare is important to you and should be on their policy agenda! Tell them that they should advocate for trans healthcare based on:

Informed Consent

• Led by the trans person’s own free and informed decisions about their body and treatment.

• Grounded in accurate, evidence-based education on transition.

• Facilitated through discussion on the expectations, benefits, risks, and limitations of any treatment.

• Free from gatekeeping, pathologisation, and discrimination.

Community and Primary Care Access

• Easy to access locally, without a decade-long waiting list for a centralised clinic.

• Delivered by general practitioners (GPs), nurses, and in sexual health clinics.

• Tailored to the individual needs of the trans person through a continuous, holistic approach to care.

• Integrated into guidelines and training for health workers.

• Accessible to trans people in rural communities.

If you feel comfortable, we recommend that you share how barriers to trans healthcare have affected you or someone you know. Politicians are most likely to pay attention to your personal experiences. For any stories you share, explain that they are not isolated events, but a systemic issue.

What else should I keep in mind?

• Thank your politician (or their assistant if they were unavailable) for the meeting.

• Be polite, but don't debase yourself.

• Consider the politician's politics when choosing what to say. Are they in government or opposition? Are they socially conservative or progressive?

• For TDs and Senators in opposition – mention this is yet another scandal in the healthcare system. Point out that the government is backsliding on their previous commitments.

• For TDs and Senators in government – stress that this is likely to cause a scandal, but is relatively easy to fix.

• With socially progressive politicians, make the comparison to before Repeal; People are being forced abroad for their care, or taking their care into their own hands, because it is not available to them in Ireland.

• With socially conservative politicians, emphasise the importance of trans healthcare being treated as a healthcare issue, and not an ideological one: If they believe in fixing the healthcare system as a whole, use this in your favour. 

• If using stats, use easy-to-remember figures (e.g. roughly 2 in 3 have accessed care abroad, about 3 in 10 have done DIY).

• After explaining all of your points, offer them a chance to ask questions.

• Offer a partnership – let the politician know they can reach out if any questions arise, or if they want clarification. If not personally, then signpost them to organisations like Trans Healthcare Action, TENI and PATHI.

• The Oireachtas offices and constituency offices of a TD might not be in contact and may have different priorities. If one is not responsive, consider reaching out to both.

What should I avoid?

• Don't get overly technical – extra detail is harder to remember. You are trying to get support, not present a thesis. Especially if meeting an assistant rather than the politician, you need them to be able to pass on what you say accurately.

• Avoid bringing up DIY with socially conservative politicians. If it comes up, try to soothe any fear. Explain that it is often a last resort, or a symptom of a failed healthcare system, and that these are identical medicines that are lab tested and meet regulations.

• It's okay to bring up THA or other organisational affiliations, but stress that you are meeting them as a constituent, not as an activist.

Any last tips?

Talking with policymakers can be daunting, so we want to make sure you feel prepared. Here are some tips:

• Bring a friend! Not only will this show your politician that this matters to many of their constituents, but it can also help you feel more comfortable.

• Take references with you! You can take notes beforehand to remind yourself of what you’d like to say and bring a copy of Trans Healthcare Action’s Policy Brief, which you can find on our website.

• Make it personal! Tell your own story or share the quotes from our policy brief to get the message across.

• Remember, your politician is accountable to you! We elect our politicians and pay their salaries, and they have a responsibility to represent us.

Resources

References

• Higgins A, Downes C, O’Sullivan K, de Vries J, Molloy R, Monahan M, Keogh B, Doyle L, Begley T, Corcoran P. (2024) Being LGBTQI+ in Ireland: The National Study on the Mental Health and Wellbeing of the LGBTQI+ Communities in Ireland. 154, 156.

• ‘It left me traumatised’: The barriers to accessing transgender healthcare in Ireland. Conor O’Carroll, The Journal, 30/04/2025

• Transgender people turning to DIY-healthcare due to lack of trust in National Gender Service. Conor O’Carroll, The Journal, 01/05/2025

Useful organisations

• Trans Healthcare Action (transhealthcare.ie)

• Trans Harm Reduction (transharmreduction.org)

• Gender Rebels (genderrebels.ie)

• Trans Equality Network Ireland – TENI (teni.ie)

• Transgress the NGS (@transgress.ie on Insta)

• Professional Association for Trans Health Ireland (PATHI, pathi.ie)

• Belong To LGBTQ+ Youth Ireland (belongto.org)

• LGBT Ireland (lgbt.ie)