A former Fianna Fáil Senator says taxpayers money being spent on the marriage equality and Presidential voting age referendums would be better spent on HIV testing for gay people.
Jim Walsh - who resigned the Fianna Fáil whip last week over his objection to the Children and Family Relationship Bill - made the comments in the Seanad this evening.
Senator Walsh says a gay man suggested to him at the weekend that the money to run the campaigns could be better spent.
“I met a gay man over the weekend and we were just discussing about the referendum and he just said to me: ‘You kow, it’s going to cost €21 million to run these referenda and to the run the referendum on gay marriage’,” Walsh said.
“He said, for example, if that money were to be used to provide free HIV testing to people who are homosexual where there’s an increase now in numbers affected by HIV, it would be far better expenditure of money.
"I'm raising it in the context of government priorities," he added.
