The Renewed Programme for Government, agreed in October 2009, includes a commitment to introduce gender recognition legislation in Irish law under the `Equality¿ heading. The purpose of this half-day symposium is to contribute to the debate leading to the drafting of such legislation. In particular, we hope to learn from the experience of the drafting of the Gender Recognition Act, 2004 in the UK and to highlight the human rights issues which require consideration in the drafting process. From an Irish perspective, we hope to identify the existing protections available to trans and intersex persons under Irish law and to emphasise the need to introduce gender recognition legislation.