A bid to recall the Assembly to pass Daithí's Law – which would offer a lifeline to patients waiting for an organ transplant – has been torpedoed by the DUP.

The Assembly was recalled on Tuesday in an attempt to pass stalled legislation over organ donation, inspired by Ballymurphy six-year-old Dáithí Mac Gabhann.

The Organ and Tissue Donation Act 2022 – known as Dáithí’s Law – would mean that all adults, unless exempted, would be considered as potential donors unless they specifically opt out.  

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.

Without a Speaker, the organ donation legislation cannot be passed.

Dáithí and his parents, Máirtín and Seph, were present in the public gallery as Assembly proceedings started with two nominations for Speaker - Mike Nesbitt of the UUP and the SDLP's Patsy McGlone.

Michelle O'Neill told MLAs that the issue of organ donation should transcend party politics.

"Over 130 people are currently waiting for an organ, 90 per cent of people in the North support organ donation and every party in this chamber supports this law," she said.

"There is little else to be said. The power is in the gift of each party and every single MLA  to do so."

DUP health spokesman Paul Givan — a former First Minister — paid tribute to the Mac Gabhann family and their campaign but called on the Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris to resolve the issue at Westminster.

Alliance leader Naomi Long said the legislation needed to be delivered, adding that it was a life-and-death issue for people on the transplant waiting list.

She appealed to the DUP to "reflect on what is at stake".

Robin Swann of the UUP, who was the Health Minister when Dáithí's Law was introduced and passed, told the Assembly the bill was "one of my proudest achievements as Health Minister."

The SDLP's Colin McGrath said waiting for Westminster to deliver Dáithí's Law was the second-best option.

"How many more times does this place have to say 'no' when it should be saying 'yes'?" he asked.

TUV leader Jim Allister said the law can only be passed at Westminster and that, until issues around the Protocol were solved, Stormont was "doomed".

People Before Profit's Gerry Carroll said the stand-off was "absolutely cruel".

"People's lives are more important that the DUP's Protocol protest," he said.

After the DUP voted against moves to elect a Speaker, the Assembly session was dismissed, much to the dismay of Daithí's parents who vowed to take their fight to London. As the Speaker called the session to an end, a lone voice from the public gallery shouted "Joke!"