It is worth noting during Pride month that the UK has now changed its discriminatory policies against gay men donating blood. Gay and bisexual men in Ireland currently must abstain from any sexual contact for a minimum of 12 months before meeting the criteria for donating blood. The same criteria do not apply to other blood donors. This ongoing ban discriminates and stigmatises individuals and feeds into negative stereotypes of whole communities. A review of the science by the advisory expert group to the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, IBTS, is currently under way but no end date has been given for the delivery of this service. With the UK and Northern Ireland moving to a more tolerant and evidence-based position on blood donations, will the Government commit to the removal of the current discriminatory practice and its replacement with an evidence-based individual risk assessment model for all blood donors?

As the Deputy will appreciate, the IBTS makes its decisions based on scientific and medical evidence. There is no reference to the Government in that regard and the service does not require the approval of the Government and it is not a Government decision. However, I echo the Deputy's comments and ask the medical people, scientists and experts in the IBTS to have regard to what is happening in the UK and other countries that are taking an approach based on individual risk rather than picking out particular groups in the way the Deputy has, very articulately, explained.