Dáithí's Law: DUP says Westminster could pass organ donation law

Six-year-old Dáithí MacGabhann is among patients waiting on a heart transplant

The quickest way to implement stalled opt-out organ donation laws in Northern Ireland is through Westminster, the DUP leader has said.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was speaking after he met the parents of a boy waiting on a heart transplant.

Dáithí MacGabhann had a bill named after him that would change Northern Ireland's organ donation laws.

Dáithí's Law, which was due to take effect this spring, has been held up due to the Stormont stalemate.

The DUP has faced criticism over the delay, as Stormont has been without a power-sharing government for 12 months due to its boycott over opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O'Neill said on Friday that the easiest way to get the new organ donation system into place was by having a functioning executive at Stormont.

However the DUP maintained that the law can be pushed through via Westminster.

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

The law was approved by Northern Ireland Assembly members last February, but it requires secondary legislation to specify which organs and tissues are covered under the system, which cannot currently be passed at Stormont.

Dáithí's parents met the Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris on Wednesday and urged him to resolve the issue by taking legislation to Parliament.

Mr Heaton-Harris has insisted it would take too long for him to do so, and that it is best dealt with by the assembly when it returns.

• Dad devastated over opt-out organ donation delay

• NI organ donation change bill passes Assembly vote

• NI organ donor law 'could change 180 lives a year'

Dáithí's parents met Sir Jeffrey and Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader Colum Eastwood on Friday to appeal to the MPs.

Sir Jeffrey said it was "entirely possible" for the UK government to intervene.

"We will work with other parties to ensure we get that legislation through Westminster as quickly as possible, and that's my commitment to Dáithí and everyone else in Northern Ireland who is waiting on organ donation.

"I will be encouraging the secretary of state, who I hope to speak to over the weekend about this, to work with myself, Colum Eastwood and Stephen Farry to get this through Parliament as quickly as possible."

Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill, who also met Dáithí and his parents earlier this week, said "the family deserves better".

"We need to get the bill over the line - we should be doing it today.

"The DUP need to shake their heads and work with the rest of us to make sure this law comes into place immediately."