Northern Ireland MLAs fail to elect speaker in bid to introduce organ donation law

MLAs have once again failed to elect a speaker for the Northern Ireland Assembly in a bid to introduce a new organ donation law.

As expected, the DUP refused to vote on the matter meaning business could not resume.

The Assembly was recalled in a bid to introduce a new law on organ donation.

Rival parties attempted to ramp up the pressure on the DUP to end its boycott of devolution over the NI Protocol, but the party made clear it will again block any attempt to elect a speaker.

The recall petition attempted to get MLAs to implement a new opt-out organ donation law inspired by Belfast boy Dáithí MacGabhann, six, who is waiting for a heart transplant.

Daithi and his parents were in the Assembly chamber to hear the debate take place.

At the outset of proceedings in the Assembly, UUP leader Doug Beattie proposed his party colleague Mike Nesbitt for speaker, while SDLP MLA Colin McGrath proposed his fellow party member Patsy McGlone.

Votes on both names failed to gain the necessary cross-community vote needed, given the DUP's boycott.

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O'Neill spoke first in the chamber.

She said: "The power is in the gift of each party and every single MLA here to save lives in this place today.

"Put simply, not to do so is a dereliction of duty".

The DUP's Paul Givan said the DUP supported the organ donation legislation.

However, in his opening remarks he reiterated the party's position that it will not nominate a speaker and engage in power sharing until the protocol issues were resolved.

He called on Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Heaton Harris to implement the legislation.

Mr Givan argued: "The government has legislated on other issues, same sex marriage, abortion, Irish Language, and they were able to do that on issues which were much more controversial than an issue like this.

"I appeal to the Secretary of State, he can do this, he should do this," he said.

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said it was an "emotional and difficult day" for people awaiting transplants.

"Young Daithi MacGabhann and his family are, of course, at the forefront of our minds - they have invested time, energy and passion in the campaign for this law - but there are others who we don't know, who face the same anxious wait and need change delivered now," she said.

"Those people who are waiting on life-saving transplant surgery, and their loved ones, are looking to us today to finish the work we started together in the last mandate, and offer them hope that a suitable organ can be found for transplantation."

She implored the DUP to "do the right thing" and allow a speaker to be elected.

"That would open the door for this Assembly to pass the regulations and give people who are waiting for transplant surgery a better chance of survival - because for them, this is a life and death issue," she said.

"I have heard both in the Chamber and on the airwaves that the DUP will not consent to the election of a speaker. I would appeal to them, even at this late stage, to reflect on what is at stake, and on the message it will send if we fail to elect a speaker, even in these circumstances."

Ulster Unionist MLA Robin Swann, who was health minister when Dáithí's Law was first approved by the Assembly, said the legislation was one of his proudest achievements.

He said it was a law that would "not just save lives, but change lives".

Mr Swann said the discourse leading up to the recall sitting had been influenced by party politics.

He then recalled a playful encounter he and then-first and deputy first ministers Paul Givan and Michelle O'Neill had with Daithi and his family at Stormont Castle.

"The fighting spirit that our former first minister (Mr Givan) referred to actually saw Daithi put a right hook on his chin," he said.

"Mr Acting Speaker in regards to this legislation and the discourse we've had up to it, I'm sure there's many have wanted to be in the same place."

Mr Swann said while his preference was for the law to be implemented at Stormont he urged the Government to ensure it went through at Westminster.

"Our former first minister was right, we've seen the Secretary of State and I've seen Westminster act at pace on many other pieces of legislation in regards to this," he said.

"This should not be a stumbling block to him or to Westminster."

SDLP MLA Colin McGrath said the ongoing failure to elect a speaker was an "absolute embarrassment".

"The business we are here to address today isn't about political parties. It isn't about me, it isn't about the SDLP, it isn't about Sinn Fein or the DUP or any of us. It is about the 134 families whose loved ones are watching us here today, waiting on an urgent organ transplant and who have placed their faith in us to be able to make that possible," he said.

Mr McGrath said passing the regulations at Westminster was the "second-best option" as it would delay the implementation of the regulations.

"Everyone that is on that transplant list deserves so much more better than second-best option," he said.

He added: "Why is there an urgency? Because up to 15 people die every year here, needlessly, on the organ donation list, because we have 134 people who are now today waiting for an organ transplant.

"For those people on the organ list that are waiting, every minute counts for them, and every day we delay this legislation does not help them with their odds of getting a proper organ match."

Colin McGrath added that Daithi MacGabhann had taught MLAs a "valuable lesson in strength, in resilience, in superhuman-will to overcome obstacles previously thought impossible to scale. He and his family have campaigned tirelessly to get this legislation.

"All of this while at six years of age he has had to wait four years on a heart. Last year we saw politics at its best (when the Bill was initially approved). What will we see today?

"We have the power to act, we could elect a speaker, lay the necessary motion and finish the legislation and help save Daithi's life and the other 133 people. Mr Acting Speaker, what in the name of humanity is stopping us?"

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