:00:00. > :00:09.Gay rights groups have welcomed the suggestion from the Health
:00:10. > :00:14.Minister that he may soon lift the lifetime ban on gay men
:00:15. > :00:16.donating blood, if experts say that it's safe.
:00:17. > :00:19.Simon Hamilton's DUP colleague and predecessor Edwin Poots
:00:20. > :00:26.controversially kept the ban in place when it was removed
:00:27. > :00:28.in Britain, saying it was to ensure patient safety.
:00:29. > :00:30.Appeal Court judges are considering whether a blood
:00:31. > :00:33.donation policy is a devolved matter or whether a decision should be made
:00:34. > :00:41.But who donates blood in Northern Ireland
:00:42. > :00:47.While a lifetime ban on gay men donating was lifted in the rest
:00:48. > :00:52.of the UK in 2011, it remains in place here.
:00:53. > :00:54.Former Health Minister Edwin Poots said it was
:00:55. > :00:58.But after an appeal, judges described the decision
:00:59. > :01:03.as irrational and infected by apparent bias.
:01:04. > :01:06.Currently judges are considering if the Health Minister here has
:01:07. > :01:09.the right to determine blood donation policy or
:01:10. > :01:15.Rules in England, Scotland and Wales allow blood from men whose last
:01:16. > :01:20.sexual contact with another man was more than a year ago.
:01:21. > :01:25.Today the Health Minister signalled we may soon follow suit.
:01:26. > :01:28.He's requested a fresh report from an expert panel and says
:01:29. > :01:31.if it shows blood safety has increased in Great Britain,
:01:32. > :01:35.Northern Ireland should adopt the same policy on blood donations
:01:36. > :01:40.There is emerging evidence which suggests blood safety has
:01:41. > :01:45.I have written to the Secretary of State for Health and suggested
:01:46. > :01:50.we undertake work to look at the evidence.
:01:51. > :01:54.If that confirms blood safety has increased in Great Britain
:01:55. > :01:58.as a result of the one-year deferral, we should adopt the same
:01:59. > :02:03.policy here in respect of donations from men who have sex with men.
:02:04. > :02:11.This indicates a change of approach and that has to be welcomed.
:02:12. > :02:14.We look forward to working with the Minister on the blood ban
:02:15. > :02:19.and other inequalities and hope he is as open to the scientific
:02:20. > :02:22.evidence on other issues as he is to the evidence
:02:23. > :02:26.Today's statement by the minister marks a significant shift
:02:27. > :02:30.It may also mean that the decision of this court on who has the final
:02:31. > :02:36.Either way, it looks like the lifetime ban
:02:37. > :02:43.The Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development
:02:44. > :02:47.was in Enniskillen today to commend the work of officials and workers
:02:48. > :02:50.dealing with the high water levels in Lough Erne.
:02:51. > :02:52.Michelle O'Neill said flooding was an ongoing problem
:02:53. > :02:58.Here's our south west reporter Julian Fowler.
:02:59. > :03:01.Work carried out here after the floods in 2009 has kept
:03:02. > :03:07.But a short distance away, it's a different picture,
:03:08. > :03:10.and the water is still slowly rising.
:03:11. > :03:13.The minister said everything possible is being done
:03:14. > :03:17.One thing the task force in 2009 highlighted was that
:03:18. > :03:20.there isn't an engineering solution to the problem in the lough.
:03:21. > :03:21.It's going to be a long-running problem.
:03:22. > :03:25.It's going to be here forever and a day, so what we need to do
:03:26. > :03:28.is tackle the issues when we can with things like raising
:03:29. > :03:33.But it's frustrating for people to deal with what they're told
:03:34. > :03:39.A report into the flooding in 2009 found it was not
:03:40. > :03:44.the way the waters in the Erne are managed but the narrow channels
:03:45. > :03:48.through Enniskillen and Belleek which hold back the water.
:03:49. > :03:51.To increase the capacity, the report said, would be
:03:52. > :03:55.environmentally and financially unviable.
:03:56. > :04:02.And more rainfall this weekend could pose further challenges.
:04:03. > :04:04.The First Minister, Peter Robinson, attended his final
:04:05. > :04:08.North-South Ministerial Council meeting in Armagh earlier on today.
:04:09. > :04:11.Mr Robinson, who is set to step down from the role in the coming weeks,
:04:12. > :04:15.was presented with nine volumes of Irish biography and football
:04:16. > :04:19.tickets to watch his favourite football team, Tottenham Hotspur,
:04:20. > :04:22.play their rivals Arsenal as a farewell gift
:04:23. > :04:30.Rugby, and Ulster have recorded a famous win tonight.
:04:31. > :04:32.They beat top French side Toulouse by 38-0
:04:33. > :04:35.in the European Champions Cup at the Kingspan stadium.
:04:36. > :04:48.This was a game bolster had to wind and it took more than 20 minutes of
:04:49. > :04:56.pressure to breach the Toulouse defence. Nick Williams Harward over
:04:57. > :04:59.and Paddy Jackson converted. Ulster's cause was held by two
:05:00. > :05:06.yellow cards for two lose in the first half and a buddy Jackson
:05:07. > :05:09.penalty at the scoreboard moving. A trip to the sin bin for Nick
:05:10. > :05:17.Williams didn't slow the home side down. Andrew Trimble kicked and
:05:18. > :05:25.caught them play to help Ulster to a 17- nil half time lead. Could they
:05:26. > :05:30.keep it going. Luke Marshall provided an early second half
:05:31. > :05:45.answer. Then Stuart McCloskey finished off another -- inspired by
:05:46. > :05:54.Ruan Pienaar. -- another --. Toulouse failed to find their way
:05:55. > :06:04.across the Ulster line. It finished, Ulster 38, to lose nil. Ulster's
:06:05. > :06:05.European cup can claim -- campaign back on track with a vintage
:06:06. > :06:07.performance. Northern Ireland manager
:06:08. > :06:09.Michael O'Neill is in Paris for tomorrow's draw for next year's
:06:10. > :06:11.European Championships. And he says he would rather avoid
:06:12. > :06:13.being drawn In less than 24 hours
:06:14. > :06:19.Northern Ireland will know who they will play in their first
:06:20. > :06:22.appearance Michael O'Neill and his players have
:06:23. > :06:31.been waiting a couple of months after they secured their
:06:32. > :06:34.qualifications to find out Michael O'Neill arrived in Paris
:06:35. > :06:39.today and when he got there I'm looking forward
:06:40. > :06:42.to the draw tomorrow. It will be exciting
:06:43. > :06:46.and hopefully favourable. All of us and the fans have been
:06:47. > :06:49.scribbling what we think is the best Have you been doing that or is it
:06:50. > :06:56.a case of seeing what's out there? No, I have looked at different
:06:57. > :07:00.teams and different pots. I wouldn't say there
:07:01. > :07:05.is a team I would especially like or want to avoid
:07:06. > :07:09.but we will see what comes. We have played a lot of big teams
:07:10. > :07:13.in the last few years so Michael O'Neill there,
:07:14. > :07:21.looking forward to the draw. In the draw itself, Northern Ireland
:07:22. > :07:26.and the Republic of Ireland cannot be drawn together in the same group,
:07:27. > :07:29.they are kept apart because they are in the same pot
:07:30. > :07:36.of suited teams. The draw tomorrow is live
:07:37. > :07:40.on BBC Radio Ulster The taxi firm Uber
:07:41. > :07:49.launched in Belfast today. The American company already
:07:50. > :07:52.operates in more than 300 cities worldwide, including
:07:53. > :07:53.Dublin and London. Drivers for the firm will have
:07:54. > :07:56.to hold the same taxi licence as drivers at conventional
:07:57. > :07:57.taxi companies. The business is based around
:07:58. > :08:00.a smartphone app that pinpoints customers' locations and alerts
:08:01. > :08:05.drivers to pick them up. It's pretty chilly
:08:06. > :08:07.out there tonight. With all the weekend weather
:08:08. > :08:19.details, here's Cecilia Daly. It's cold tonight, there will be
:08:20. > :08:24.some frost around. Skies are clear which means if you look skyward you
:08:25. > :08:29.may catch sight of a meteor shower. Through the weekend we can expect
:08:30. > :08:33.some rain, which tomorrow may fall as snow, especially in the morning
:08:34. > :08:38.on high ground. On Sunday the rain may be catchy but heavy rain will be
:08:39. > :08:43.further west, which does not need further rain but we think the
:08:44. > :08:49.rainfall will not be large enough to cause further flooding. Fairly dry
:08:50. > :08:53.tonight, showers are easing away, there will be frost and eyes for
:08:54. > :08:58.each time before the weather system edges into Southern counties, so
:08:59. > :09:03.tomorrow morning wet with rain on higher ground, the further south you
:09:04. > :09:09.are the more rain you will see and in the north you may not see rain
:09:10. > :09:14.before it moves away and could be significant snowfall on the
:09:15. > :09:18.mourners. Rain warnings are in force across Northern England, Wales and
:09:19. > :09:25.the Republic of Ireland, with a risk of flooding. Snow on high ground. To
:09:26. > :09:29.the north it is clear and cold across Scotland and towards London
:09:30. > :09:36.it should stay dry and mild. Brighter skies for Northern Ireland,
:09:37. > :09:41.to tomorrow afternoon, not as windy as today so it may not feel to
:09:42. > :09:47.better and there will be frost and ice in places on Saturday night. On
:09:48. > :09:49.Sunday more especially in the West, but there will be some dry weather.
:09:50. > :09:51.That's it from us until 5:55pm tomorrow.
:09:52. > :09:54.In the meantime you can keep up to date with News Online.
:09:55. > :10:00.From all of us here on the BBC Newsline team, goodnight