Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I fully support Senator Ruane. I was going to raise that issue. Like her, I was horrified when I saw how Conor had been treated. It is so wrong. His mother eloquently spoke about how he looked out the window waiting for the bus to collect him to bring him to school every single day but, as of now, he has no place to go. It is appalling. No child in this country should be in that situation.

I second Senator Chambers's stalking Bill. We must seek to make our country a safer place for women and for all. That Bill certainly would be another piece of the armoury.

I thank the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, for his sanctioning the drug, patisiran, at the weekend. Members would have heard me speak about Pat Tinsley and his need for this lifesaving drug. Only this day last week I raised this issue in the Seanad. I was thrilled to get a phone call from the Minister over the weekend advising me that this drug was going to be sanctioned.It is literally life-saving for Pat and his peers.

The main issue I wish to mention here is the 12-month ban on gay men donating blood which I raised some time ago. Two weeks ago, the Irish Blood Transfusion Service announced that it was importing a bulk consignment of blood from the UK for the first time since the late 1900s due to a current shortage of supply here in Ireland.

This 12-month ban does not exist in England so gay men who were willing to donate blood in the UK would very possibly be donating blood to us in a situation where gay men here cannot donate blood unless they consider that they have not had sex with another man for 12 months. This is a blatant discrimination and inequality. I commend Tomás Heneghan for highlighting this and for his campaign. PrEP is a medication taken by HIV-negative men and is available through the HSE free of charge. I recommend that the Minister and the Department of Health would look at a situation where if they can prove that gay men are taking PrEP that they would then give blood. This is a discrimination and an inequality that should be addressed. I thank the Cathaoirleach.