Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I accept a common concern is that PrEP may lead people to stop using condoms, thereby putting them at risk of other sexually transmitted diseases or infections. In light of the lifting of the lifetime ban preventing gay men from donating blood and the introduction of a 12-year deferral period, the policy is an admission that HIV can be caught in a 12-month period. The concern is that sexually transmitted diseases could be caught in that 12-month period also. What we are saying is that the five-year wait is extreme. It is a considerable amount of time and we do have to challenge it. What is the logic of demanding that those who take extra safety measures be required to wait five years rather than one? If HIV can be caught in the 12-month period, I do not see the need for those who take PrEP to be deferred for five years.