Taoiseach says transgender prisoners should not be in women’s jails

He made the comments yesterday.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that he does not believe that transgender prisoners should be placed in women's prisons. Varadkar has said that he thinks Ireland now may have to change its laws in order to protect other female prisoners. His comments came after the case of Barbie Kardashian who is a transgender women who threatened to torture, rape and murder her mother and is currently serving time in a women’s prison in Limerick. He was asked on Tuesday if he believed that those born as a male should be placed in women's prisons, the Taoiseach said: "No, I don’t, quite frankly." He added: "And if the situation that arose in Scotland has now arisen in Ireland, well, then we’re going to have to deal with it in a similar way." [caption id="attachment_555669" align="alignnone" width="421"] Photograph: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie[/caption] The situation he is referring to in Scotland regards a convicted transgender rapist Isla Bryson. Varadkar's comments come after Kardashian was sentenced to five and a half years last week, with the final 12 months suspended. Kardashian is serving time in a women's prison, alongside another transgender woman. Varadkar has said that he has plans to discuss the case with Minister for Justice Simon Harris but has yet to be briefed on it. Following the recent and similar case in Scotland which led to the laws being changed, Varadkar cited it to "make sure the women were protected". "I know that a similar situation arose in Scotland. And it was necessary there to change the law to make sure the women were protected. So, we may have to consider that," he said. Featured image: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

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