Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thought someone was being incredibly rude and wanted them to be removed from the room if they were undermining Dr. McDonagh in any way. It suggests I might be somewhere on the same page with her. Dr. McDonagh and Mr. Wycherley, and Professor O'Neill and Dr. Hartney, have expressed exactly what is one of our concerns throughout this committee's meetings. That there is the lived experience of people with disabilities having had all of their lives a perception of burden that should be removed, and that the universality of design and all of those things are not in place. Then when it comes to a topic such as this there is that fear that it will exacerbate a message that is already there and amplify it. I have consistently been concerned for the elderly in this process. Once the option of assisted dying is on the table is that a societal statement about those who may qualify to take that option? The obvious safeguard is to not introduce it but were it to be introduced, how do we ensure what sort of things should we be looking for? The point has been extremely well made through all of the meetings thus far that we need greater services, funding, and support. That is throughout everything, including palliative care. We have to narrow that down to wording on a page in a report, what sort of things, if any, can be done. I ask all witnesses that question.