Cllr Eugene McGuinness (Ind) has passed a motion asking Kilkenny County Council to write to the Minister for Sport "asking the Minister to clarify the Government current transgender policy particularly as it pertains to women’s and girls’ sport." His motion continued: "We urge the Minister to engage in meaningful dialogue with female athletes, sports scientists and safeguarding experts to find the necessary wording and guidelines that respects both inclusion and fairness." "I'm sure that the journey people go on transitioning is a pretty difficult one," Cllr Eugene McGuinness stated in the council chamber as he raised his motion at Monday's plenary meeting of Kilkenny County Council. READ NEXT: Kilkenny councillor hits out at local 'thugs' and 'criminals' "I have no doubt at all about that. But we have a situation now in Ireland where we have dressing rooms shared and we have males who have transitioned to female sport on the field of play. "The difficulty here is, if you have a 17- or 18- or 19-year-old who has spent most of their life as a male now crashing into your young daughter on the field of play, the danger of that is immense." McGuinness also raised concerns around shared dressing rooms and showering facilities before referencing the Tour de France as an example of a sporting event that makes sure that 'not one percentage of advantage is given to anybody else'. "The fact is that, if you are a male, or a male who has transitioned, you have that advantage, and what I'm asking here is the Minister to stand up and clarify exactly what the rule and regulation is, because different sporting bodies now have a different interpretation of what they feel is right or wrong." Cllr McGuinness also stated that he would ask that the Minister 'put a stop to any transgender [sic] playing in women's sport. It should not be allowed until such time as the position is fully clarified'. Cllr Tomás Breathnach (Lab) seconded the motion and emphasised the 'need for guidelines' on 'what is a very very sensitive issue'. Cllr Joe Malone (FF) supported the motion, and queried the executive team of the local authority about possible timelines for a response. Director of Services, Mary Mulholland stated that there can be no guarantees as to when the Minister's Office would issue a reply, but referred the elected members to the Sport Ireland Guidance Document for Transgender and Non-Binary Inclusion in Sport and the National Sports Policy 2018 – 2027. "I do understand that specific guidance arises from time to time, depending on the discipline or sport, because some are governed by international federations, they have separate guidance," Ms Mulholland said. "All we can do is keep following up if we don't receive a response." Cllr David Fitzgerald (FG) noted that the newly-elected President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 'has stated that the IOC are going to set up a commission to look into these issues'. "This is a worldwide issue that has enormous implications," he said. "It's an incredibly difficult topic. I would support the motion because clarity is needed, but I would also ask members, and those dealing with this issue, to show great sensitivity to all those who are involved." Cllr Maria Dollard (Green) stated that she would like to make a 'very quick comment'. "I don't know a lot about all kinds of sports but I do know about the Special Olympics," she said. "In Special Olympics, gender doesn't come into it at all because it's very inclusive. They way they approach sport is that everything is divisions, so you're competing with other athletes at your level. "It doesn't matter whether it's men or women, boys or girls, they're there competing with each other because they are of similar ability. "There might be something to be learned there." FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS, CLICK HERE