11/12/2015 BBC Newsline

Gay rights groups have welcomed the suggestion from the Health

Minister that he may soon lift the lifetime ban on gay men

donating blood, if experts say that it's safe.

Simon Hamilton's DUP colleague and predecessor Edwin Poots

controversially kept the ban in place when it was removed

in Britain, saying it was to ensure patient safety.

Appeal Court judges are considering whether a blood

donation policy is a devolved matter or whether a decision should be made

But who donates blood in Northern Ireland

While a lifetime ban on gay men donating was lifted in the rest

of the UK in 2011, it remains in place here.

Former Health Minister Edwin Poots said it was

But after an appeal, judges described the decision

as irrational and infected by apparent bias.

Currently judges are considering if the Health Minister here has

the right to determine blood donation policy or

Rules in England, Scotland and Wales allow blood from men whose last

sexual contact with another man was more than a year ago.

Today the Health Minister signalled we may soon follow suit.

He's requested a fresh report from an expert panel and says

if it shows blood safety has increased in Great Britain,

Northern Ireland should adopt the same policy on blood donations

There is emerging evidence which suggests blood safety has

I have written to the Secretary of State for Health and suggested

we undertake work to look at the evidence.

If that confirms blood safety has increased in Great Britain

as a result of the one-year deferral, we should adopt the same

policy here in respect of donations from men who have sex with men.

This indicates a change of approach and that has to be welcomed.

We look forward to working with the Minister on the blood ban

and other inequalities and hope he is as open to the scientific

evidence on other issues as he is to the evidence

Today's statement by the minister marks a significant shift

It may also mean that the decision of this court on who has the final

Either way, it looks like the lifetime ban

The Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development

was in Enniskillen today to commend the work of officials and workers

dealing with the high water levels in Lough Erne.

Michelle O'Neill said flooding was an ongoing problem

Here's our south west reporter Julian Fowler.

Work carried out here after the floods in 2009 has kept

But a short distance away, it's a different picture,

and the water is still slowly rising.

The minister said everything possible is being done

One thing the task force in 2009 highlighted was that

there isn't an engineering solution to the problem in the lough.

It's going to be a long-running problem.

It's going to be here forever and a day, so what we need to do

is tackle the issues when we can with things like raising

But it's frustrating for people to deal with what they're told

A report into the flooding in 2009 found it was not

the way the waters in the Erne are managed but the narrow channels

through Enniskillen and Belleek which hold back the water.

To increase the capacity, the report said, would be

environmentally and financially unviable.

And more rainfall this weekend could pose further challenges.

The First Minister, Peter Robinson, attended his final

North-South Ministerial Council meeting in Armagh earlier on today.

Mr Robinson, who is set to step down from the role in the coming weeks,

was presented with nine volumes of Irish biography and football

tickets to watch his favourite football team, Tottenham Hotspur,

play their rivals Arsenal as a farewell gift

Rugby, and Ulster have recorded a famous win tonight.

They beat top French side Toulouse by 38-0

in the European Champions Cup at the Kingspan stadium.

This was a game bolster had to wind and it took more than 20 minutes of

pressure to breach the Toulouse defence. Nick Williams Harward over

and Paddy Jackson converted. Ulster's cause was held by two

yellow cards for two lose in the first half and a buddy Jackson

penalty at the scoreboard moving. A trip to the sin bin for Nick

Williams didn't slow the home side down. Andrew Trimble kicked and

caught them play to help Ulster to a 17- nil half time lead. Could they

keep it going. Luke Marshall provided an early second half

answer. Then Stuart McCloskey finished off another -- inspired by

Ruan Pienaar. -- another --. Toulouse failed to find their way

across the Ulster line. It finished, Ulster 38, to lose nil. Ulster's

European cup can claim -- campaign back on track with a vintage

performance. Northern Ireland manager

Michael O'Neill is in Paris for tomorrow's draw for next year's

European Championships. And he says he would rather avoid

being drawn In less than 24 hours

Northern Ireland will know who they will play in their first

appearance Michael O'Neill and his players have

been waiting a couple of months after they secured their

qualifications to find out Michael O'Neill arrived in Paris

today and when he got there I'm looking forward

to the draw tomorrow. It will be exciting

and hopefully favourable. All of us and the fans have been

scribbling what we think is the best Have you been doing that or is it

a case of seeing what's out there? No, I have looked at different

teams and different pots. I wouldn't say there

is a team I would especially like or want to avoid

but we will see what comes. We have played a lot of big teams

in the last few years so Michael O'Neill there,

looking forward to the draw. In the draw itself, Northern Ireland

and the Republic of Ireland cannot be drawn together in the same group,

they are kept apart because they are in the same pot

of suited teams. The draw tomorrow is live

on BBC Radio Ulster The taxi firm Uber

launched in Belfast today. The American company already

operates in more than 300 cities worldwide, including

Dublin and London. Drivers for the firm will have

to hold the same taxi licence as drivers at conventional

taxi companies. The business is based around

a smartphone app that pinpoints customers' locations and alerts

drivers to pick them up. It's pretty chilly

out there tonight. With all the weekend weather

details, here's Cecilia Daly. It's cold tonight, there will be

some frost around. Skies are clear which means if you look skyward you

may catch sight of a meteor shower. Through the weekend we can expect

some rain, which tomorrow may fall as snow, especially in the morning

on high ground. On Sunday the rain may be catchy but heavy rain will be

further west, which does not need further rain but we think the

rainfall will not be large enough to cause further flooding. Fairly dry

tonight, showers are easing away, there will be frost and eyes for

each time before the weather system edges into Southern counties, so

tomorrow morning wet with rain on higher ground, the further south you

are the more rain you will see and in the north you may not see rain

before it moves away and could be significant snowfall on the

mourners. Rain warnings are in force across Northern England, Wales and

the Republic of Ireland, with a risk of flooding. Snow on high ground. To

the north it is clear and cold across Scotland and towards London

it should stay dry and mild. Brighter skies for Northern Ireland,

to tomorrow afternoon, not as windy as today so it may not feel to

better and there will be frost and ice in places on Saturday night. On

Sunday more especially in the West, but there will be some dry weather.

That's it from us until 5:55pm tomorrow.

In the meantime you can keep up to date with News Online.

From all of us here on the BBC Newsline team, goodnight