Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair. I have a few questions. First, the safeguards that we talk about are ones that, certainly aspirationally, all legislators would like to see. All of us, I imagine, are in public life to better the quality of life of everyone in our Republic. However, it is flawed. It is not perfect by any means. I am a member of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters, and I am very mindful, week in, week out, of the suffering that is out there, and the lack of equality and opportunity for people. We aspire to do better all of the time, and we advocate to do better all of the time.

I fear that we will arrive at a stage where people will be afraid to complain about their suffering. In other contexts, where people access artificial human reproduction methods, those who come to parenthood through all of that assistance, are then afraid to complain when they are tired as mothers, or because they feel, "Oh my goodness, this is extra". Then I fear about us having it the other way around where, if there is an option of assisted suicide or death, that someone is then afraid to complain or talk about their suffering, and afraid about at what point that discussion will happen with them, and how it will be.

Once we have legislation that provides for assisted dying, how is that right exercised by people? Are they given a leaflet when they get a diagnosis? Do they hit a point where they are told that they now have, perhaps, up to six months left, and these are among their options? How is that triggered? We cannot assume that people will know it as an option, or know that they come within that category, so some level of informing is going to have to happen. Then, by the very fact of the information being given, is that in itself a trigger of a diminution of value?

I am trying to grapple with how we put a safeguard there. There are safeguards we have talked about, and I would dearly like to read the submission in the UK on ensuring social conditions, care and support are sufficient. Yes, but they are always going to be flawed as much as we aspire to them not being flawed. We will never have a perfect scenario. That is one thing, and the second is when that threshold is crossed, how is the information imparted? By having the conversation alone, is that making a statement on the value of life, and how do we cater for the consequences of that?