Long awaited policy guidance on the appropriate housing of transgender prisoners has been further delayed, with prison officials struggling to find an international model which would suit Ireland.
Since work on the policy began two years ago, officials have carried out a detailed examination of the handling of transgender prisoners in several other countries.
However, they have yet to find an appropriate model which adequately balances the rights of the prisoner and the safely of other inmates and staff while also being cost effective, sources said.
It is understood most officials favour a flexible approach which deals with transgender prisoners on a case-by-case basis and which prioritises the safety of inmates and staff.
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The eventual report is likely to recommend a formalised version of this approach which will see transgender prisoners undergo a safety and risk assessment before deciding if they should be placed in a men’s or women’s facility.
A major issue for officials examining the matter is the very small number of transgender prisoners who pass through the prison system. This makes the construction of a dedicated unit financially unjustifiable, sources said.
One of the main complicating factors in drafting the report is the requirement for any policy to adhere to the Gender Recognition Act 2015, which allows people to self-identify as their preferred gender regardless of any medical procedures or physical attributes.
Another factor in the delay in the report is a decision to widen its scope to include “supports for gender diversity in the prison environment more broadly”, the Irish Prison Service (IPS) said.
The issue of the housing of transgender prisoners came to a head in early 2023 following the imprisonment of Barbie Kardashian, a transgender woman, for threats to torture, rape and murder.
At the time, Leo Varadkar, then Taoiseach, said violent biological males should not be housed in women’s prisons.
Kardashian was initially held in Limerick Women’s Prison. Last year, she stood trial accused of threatening to kill or cause serious harm to a fellow female prisoner and a prison officer in 2023. She was acquitted of all charges.
Currently, Kardashian is held in the D1 Unit of the men’s prison in Limerick where she is largely kept separate from other inmates. It is understood there is another transgender prisoner in custody in Cloverhill Prison in Dublin.
In response to queries, an IPS spokesman said under the current system it must place prisoners in “whichever prison is specified by the court. All prisoners committed are accommodated in accordance with their legal gender”.
He said the “strengths, needs and risk profile of each prisoner were continuously assessed.”
Work on the policy document is continuing and has involved consultations with a wide range of organisations including the Office of the Inspector of Prisons.
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