A 15-page policy paper produced by Fine Gael recommends a number of reforms to the Gender Recognition Act 2015, including a reduction in the minimum age to apply for a gender recognition certificate from 18 to 16, the Irish Independent reports.

The report proposes that non-binary people, who do not identify as men or as women, should be permitted to mark their gender as “X” on official documents, following countries such as Germany, Denmark and Canada.

It also recommends that under-16s should be allowed to seek a gender recognition certificate through another mechanism where they have parental consent.

The proposals reflect the recommendations of the group set up by Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty to review the operation of the 2015 Act, which published a report in summer 2018.

Legal rights group FLAC is supportive of the proposed changes, and said at the time that the measures “will go a long way to addressing the barriers to living with dignity for transgender children”.