Dáithí's law: Assembly to meet for recall over organ donation

The Stormont Assembly is to be recalled later in a bid to pass a stalled organ donation law.

It is the sixth assembly recall since May, the last was in December with a motion that called for the DUP to end its boycott of power-sharing.

Sir Jeffrey accused others of using the the organ law to blackmail his party.

The DUP has said the legislation can be dealt with at Westminster.

But assembly members have been urged to elect a Speaker and implement a new opt-out organ donation law inspired by a six-year-old Belfast boy - Dáithí Mac Gabhann - who needs a heart transplant.

Dáithí's father Máirtín said the family was "disappointed, but not at all surprised" by the DUP's decision, adding that the party's health spokesperson Paul Givan had informed them of the move on Saturday.

"Although disappointed that it can't be sorted out on Tuesday, we were also told that the DUP would do everything it can to see [that} Dáithí's Law goes through Westminster," he said.

"At this stage, we need it guaranteed that without a sitting assembly that it can be done at Westminster. Can Jeffrey and the DUP guarantee us that?"

A Sinn Féin motion to recall the assembly received support from the Alliance Party and People Before Profit.

If a Speaker is not elected, the organ donation legislation will not be passed.

Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where an opt-out organ donation system is not in place.

Dáithí's Law was introduced in the assembly in 2021 and passed its final stage in February 2022.

However, additional legislation is needed to specify which organs and tissues are covered under the opt-out system.

It would mean all adults in Northern Ireland would be considered as a potential organ donor after their death, unless they specifically stated otherwise.

Northern Ireland has not had a functioning assembly for over a year and that will continue after Tuesday.

MLAs will gather in the chamber to make another attempt to elect a Speaker - but the DUP will not vote for this so the process will fail.

Without a Speaker and therefore a functioning assembly, new legislation cannot proceed at Stormont.

The DUP insists the organ donation legislation can be passed through Westminster.

But others including the Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris take a different view and argue that the organ donation law could be in place within days if the assembly was back up and running.