Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will begin by calling for statements from the Minister for Health to update the House on the progress of the human tissue Bill. Members will know this is an issue that I and other colleagues have raised many times and other colleagues have raised it as a Commencement matter. The human tissue Bill is important legislation for many reasons but a primary reason for its importance is the option for a soft opt-out, which is that people would have to opt out of the organ donation register. This is something which recently came into effect before the collapse of the Executive in the North and it was known as Daíthí’s Law. This is where a soft opt-out in respect of organ donation will be the law in the Six Counties.

This should happen for so many reasons, such as all-Ireland harmonisation, a responsible approach to healthcare and medicine but also because I believe it makes sense. It is the right thing to do when one thinks of the many people, particularly children, who are awaiting organs, and their families, but also because of all of the stress they are under. This is critical legislation which I believe this House stands ready to support and to see progressed. I understand the legislation has been signed off at a departmental and official level and I do not, therefore, understand what the delay is. I believe it would be important for the Minister for Health to come in to update the House on the progress of this Bill and to talk to us on the issue of organ donation and the importance of people registering as organ donors in the broader context as well.

I also welcome the Taoiseach's announcement this week that the Narrow Water Bridge project has gone out to tender. This is a significant step forward in the process of realising the Narrow Water Bridge and it is something that has been talked about now for decades. That bridge will have a transformative impact on the tourism of the broader south Down and Cooley-north Louth region. It will have a positive impact on communities, on infrastructure, on the economy and on job creation there. It is a significant step forward. We are not quite there yet but it is a move in the right direction and I certainly welcome it. This is an example of the shared island unit in action.That is where I believe it is strongest. We should support it where it is giving practical help to people on the ground across the island.

In the context of last week's visit by members of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement to London and Westminster, we should have statements on the shared island unit, which carries out a range of important work whether that is on capital infrastructure projects or on research and in academia. I am sure that in this House, however, many more ideas, thoughts and inputs could be made regarding that work going forward. I ask the Acting Leader to convey that to his Government colleagues.