Image source, PA Media

Stalled organ donation laws for Northern Ireland will progress this week after a last-minute intervention by the government, BBC News NI has learned.

An amendment to the Executive Formation Bill will be tabled, to ensure a new opt-out system is implemented.

Dáithí's law, named after a six-year-old boy in need of a heart transplant, was delayed due to Stormont stalemate.

Dáithí Mac Gabhann's father Máirtín said it was an "emotional day".

The family and Northern Ireland politicians had been urging Westminster to step in.

The government had previously said it would take too long to deal with the issue in Parliament, insisting it remained a matter for the NI Assembly.

However, the legislation cannot be passed at Stormont until the DUP ends its boycott of the power-sharing institutions over the NI Protocol.

With Dáithí's Law having been prevented from proceeding at Stormont, the DUP, the SDLP and the Alliance Party were trying to push it through Westminster instead.

A DUP amendment - co-signed by the other parties - aimed to change the Executive Formation Bill, a piece of legislation being moved by the government which would delay the requirement for another assembly election if a Stormont executive cannot be formed.

However, that was unlikely to be successful as the bill's subject matter - or scope - is very narrow and there were concerns it would not be accepted by the Commons Speaker's office, when the bill is debated by MPs on Wednesday.

Now it is understood the government is tabling the amendment to the bill in its own name - a significant move that is thought to have the speaker's backing.

The bill could complete all its stages in Parliament by 6 March.

'Move mountains'

There would then be a lead-in time of three months before the opt-out system could effectively go live in Northern Ireland, meaning it could be in place by the start of summer.

The Department of Health had initially planned for a timetable of spring 2023.

Mr Mac Gabhann said his family will still travel to London on Wednesday to watch the debate on the bill.

But he welcomed the government's decision and said he had spoken to the Secretary of State, Chris Heaton-Harris, about it on Sunday evening.

"It's an extremely emotional day for our family after everything we have been through the past few weeks," he said.

"We feel as though we have had to again move mountains to achieve this, and we are very proud of ourselves and of Daithi."

BBC News NI has asked the Northern Ireland Office for details of the amendment.

What is Daithi's Law?

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.

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

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

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