Sinn Féin is calling on the Government to set a date for a constitutional referendum on same-sex marriage.

The party launched its lesbian gay bisexual transgender (LGBT) rights policy in Dublin yesterday, ahead of this weekend’s Dublin Pride festival.

Sinn Féin’s justice and equality spokesman Pádraig Mac Lochlainn welcomed the fact that the Government has committed to holding a referendum in 2015.

“There’s no room for complacency. We all know in referendums that the pendulum can swing back and forth, so there’s a lot of work to be done, and we need certainty around a date,” said Mr Mac Lochlainn.

There are 10 proposals put forward by the party which it says will bring better equality for the LGBT community in Ireland.

One is ending what it says is legalised homophobic and transphobic discrimination in schools and hospitals.

National schools

“The overwhelming majority of national schools across the state are Catholic-run. It allows for a situation where the vast majority of primary schools can discriminate against LGBT teachers and it’s not acceptable.”

The party, he says, aims to tackle workplace discrimination against the LGBT community by amending section 37 of the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2011 to eliminate legalised discrimination against LGBT education and healthcare workers in the Republic.

Full adoptive rights

Sinn Féin also called for full adoptive rights for LGBT couples, which it hopes will be achieved through its Family Relationships and Children Bill.

Mr Mac Lochlainn said existing hate-crime legislation should be updated to address homophobic and transphobic hatred online and on social media.

“We want to make people fully accountable for what they do and say in whatever forum, so we need to strengthen those laws which are currently quite weak.”

Mr Mac Lochlainn said the party was also keen to push through gender recognition legislation to allow transgender citizens to have a birth certificate that recognises their identity.