Tag Archives: Northern Ireland Assembly

Dispicable blood ban must be lifted in Northern Ireland

Health Minister urges people to give blood

The DUP Health Minister urging as many as possible to give blood within a month of taking office. Photo from DUP Flickr page

Once again, Northern Ireland lags behind progress in the rest of the United Kingdom. The health minister at Stormont, Edwin Poots MLA of the DUP has said that he will not be rushed on lifting the ban on gay men giving blood. Last October, he was quizzed by the health committee in the Northern Ireland Assembly and told them,

I am not going to be rushed, pushed or harassed on an issue that is about public safety

The Minister continued to state his position:

We are not west Brits here: we are Northern Ireland, and we are a devolved Administration. We receive advice, and we have civil servants and others to give us advice. I am not some direct rule Minister. I am in charge here, and I make the decisions. I will seek to do that within the law, I will seek to do what is right for the population that I serve and I will give due consideration to everything.

The Minister, may be doing everything he can within the law, but does his reasoning actually stand up to tests? Stephen Glenn of the NI Liberal Democrats argues otherwise. Even before the Minister gave evidence to the health committee, Stephen said:

If the Minister is still contemplating his decision after his rather final words in Spetember (sic) we should applaud him for doing so. But like too much LGBT legislation in Northern Ireland we don’t want the devolved powers to kick it into the long grass hoping that people will forget about it, only for central government to force it through. Let’s have some action after all the Belfast Agreement says that all policy should be tested against LGBT criteria among others.

Now, I am a gay man who is not able to give blood. For a very simple reason: I am living with HIV. However, while I may not give blood and for a very, very good reason, I see no reason why Northern Ireland should be lagging behind the rest of the UK on this issue.

The advice given by NHS Blood and Transplant (for England & North Wales) says:

You should never give blood if:
* You have ever had syphilis, HTLV (Human T – lymphotropic virus), HIV or hepatitis C.
* You’ve ever worked as a prostitute.
* You’ve ever injected yourself with drugs – even once.

You should not give blood for 12 months after sex with:
* A man (if you’re a male). Men who have had anal or oral sex with another man (with or without a condom) are deferred from blood donation for 12 months.
* A man who has had sex with another man (if you’re a female).
* A prostitute.
* Anyone who has ever injected themselves with drugs.
* Anyone with haemophilia or a related blood clotting disorder who has received clotting factor concentrates.
* Anyone of any race who has been sexually active in parts of the world where AIDS/HIV is very common. This includes countries in Africa.

Here in Northern Ireland, it is difficult to find any advice on the NI Blood Transfusion Service website. Certainly, I have not been able to find any… Perhaps the NIBTS is as embarrassed by the Minister’s stance as I am.

National Union of Students-Union of Students i...

National Union of Students-Union of Students in Ireland (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This week, Northern Ireland’s students are being asked to come on board with putting more pressure on Edwin Poots to live this ban. Many of us know that NUS-USI campaigns on many issues, not just student-related ones. The organisation articulates the views of students on many issues including delivering fairness and equality in society. Speaking ahead of this year’s conference, President of NUS-USI Adrianne Peltz has said:

For a ban to exist on gay men giving blood is an absolute disgrace as it flies in the face of equality and fairness. Think of the appalling message that this ban sends out. The fact that this blood donation ban is being lifted elsewhere but still exists here brings shame on Northern Ireland.

For government to fail to lift the ban would be scandalous. As well as this being a key equality issue, we also need more blood donors here and this is literally a matter of life and death for a significant number of people in Northern Ireland.

NUS-USI LGBT Officer, Chris Geddis, said:

We need to see this ban overturned immediately and we will keep the pressure on the Minister until he delivers fairness on this issue. Government must reflect on what having this ban says to the rest of the world about Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland simply must be a society that has equality and respect for everyone, and this ban must be removed as a matter of urgency.

Anyone who wants to put pressure on the Minister, should write to:

Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Room C5.10
Castle Buildings
Stormont Estate
Belfast
BT4 3SQ

You can telephone the Minister’s Private Secretary on 028 9052 0643
Alternatively you can email the Private Office at private.office@dhsspsni.gov.uk
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April 16, 2012 0 Comments Short URL , , , , , , , , , Blogging, blood ban, Health, LGBT

It really would try the patience of a saint…

60-pounds

It’s has happened again. What? I hear you ask. Nothing simpler than another occasion in which those in Lib Dem HQ in London forget about us in Northern Ireland.

It is often said to me that the Lib Dems don’t make policy on issues affecting Northern Ireland only – that is on issues devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Last time I looked, taxation was not one of them. It may be in the future, but at present it is not.

So why, does Tim Gordon’s great new website asking us what we would do with £60 extra in every month, not allow people from Northern Ireland to answer? (more…)

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March 14, 2012 0 Comments Short URL , , , , , , Lib Dems

and they’ve done it again in @niassembly – D’Oh!

Northern Ireland Assembly logo

Image via Wikipedia

Once again our esteemed MLAs in the Northern Ireland Assembly have managed to pass a motion with amendments that is not possible to enforce. (more…)

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September 19, 2011 0 Comments Short URL , , , , , , APNI, Belfast, DUP, Northern Ireland, politics

Politician states Pride is ‘totally repugnant’ – when will the DUP learn?

Belfast Pride Festival 2011

And so, we’re still waiting for official confirmation from the DUP that Jim Wells is the member of the DUP that told organizers of yesterday’s Pride on the Hill event that Belfast Pride was

totally repugnant

Belfast Pride Festival 2011Pride on the Hill was an extension of the Pride Talks Back events of previous years Belfast Pride Festivals. Chaired by William Crawley, there were representatives from all the main political parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly, save for one. It seems that it was too much to hope that Peter Robinson‘s DUP would turn up to the event.

South Down representative, John McCallister MLA, said to UTV

It blows a hole in the new cuddly image Peter Robinson has been trying to put out there,

He says he’s wanting to reach out and he claims he wants to reach out to catholic votes, but he’s not wanting obviously to reach out to the gay community.

The event was a great opportunity for politicians from the SDLP, the Alliance Party, the UUP, Sinn Féin, and the Green Party to hear the concerns of the LGBT community in Northern Ireland.

Although we did not have MLAs from every party on the panel, we did at least have elected representatives: Dolores Kelly MLA (SDLP), John McCallister (UUP), Steven Agnew (Green Party), The Rt Hon. the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Cllr Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Féin), Cllr Michael Bower (Alliance Party), as well as John O’Doherty from The Rainbow Project.

The notable absentee was any representative from the DUP. Sadly, they decided not to attend. Not only that, but the organizers of the event said that a DUP member told them that the event was totally repugnant.

All evening, there have been many tweets and comments on Facebook looking for the identity of that MLA. David Thompson has stated that it was Jim Wells MLA.

This would that be the same Jim Wells MLA, who as

the DUP’s spokesman and it would appear policy maker on international aid and development came unstuck at the first question [at the Coalition of Aid and Development Agencies' Election Hustings]. The Rainbow Project’s Education Equality Officer Gavin Boyd asked a question that as many of the candidates mentioned Uganda how they felt the Assembly could reconcile giving aid or development funding to Uganda or the 50 African states where being gay is illegal.

from Liberal Democrats in Northern Ireland

It is clear that the DUP still has a long way to go to be able to see the need to come and listen to those in the wider Northern Irish community who feel that they are marginalized and are not listened to. There are many issues that need addressing but it is very difficult for ministers in the Executive to get these issues on to the floor of the Assembly until the DUP come on board. For how long do we have to wait?

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July 26, 2011 0 Comments Short URL , , , , , , , , , , , , , , APNI, Belfast, Belfast Pride, Blogging, DUP, gay, LGBT, Lib Dems, Northern Ireland life, SDLP, Sinn Féin, UUP

sleep – isn’t that for wimps?

It is nearly four o’clock in the morning and, despite a number of aborted attempts, Sleep has been just escaping me tonight. I don’t know what is going on that is creating this problem. Perhaps I am doing too much? Perhaps there are many outside forces which are leaning on me? What could they be?

  1. Study?
    I’ve just started an  Open University course (DB123 You and your money: personal finance in context. I’ve the first TMA (Tutor Marked Assignment) to be completed and sent off (fortunately by email nowadays) by 3 June.
  2. Just Married?
    It’s only two weeks since Andrew and I got married, and we are both still recovering from that weekend. Of course, now that we are a couple in the eyes of the law, this means that we have to tell all sorts of government departments, as well as continue to move my belongings into what was his – and now our – flat.
  3. Work?
    Continuing to work in the Northern Ireland Assembly, I am meant to be up there later today in about five hours. This could be quite challenging given my lack of sleep recently. Fortunately there is not terribly much on the Order Paper for tomorrow (I mean today).
  4. FLAGS?
    We’ve just had the unit chairman’s resignation, meaning that I am acting up to ensure that there is some leadership within the National Scout Active Support Unit. We’ve got one of our biggest events coming up on 2 July when we will be attending London Pride for the third year in a row. 

I’m going to go and try again, I hope that this time I will be able to get some sleep. Wish me luck guys (and gals)!

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May 23, 2011 1 Comment Short URL , , , , , , , Blogging

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