Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I compliment Senator O'Donnell on the motion which may be unusual but makes a lot of sense. One wonders why we have not considered such a motion in the past. The fact that it does not show up on the radar as often as we like does not change the fact that we all have a vested interest in the motion. There is not a person here, or a person who will consider the motion, who will not be at the receiving end some day of whatever policies and procedures are progressed.

I also compliment the Government on withdrawing its amendment. I was taken aback when I saw its amendment because I could not see the reason for it. The withdrawal is a good start.

A lot of us just draw on our own memories. How often have we written to a bereaved person to express our sympathy and made the point that we know he or she will be comforted by many happy memories. That sentiment is very much a part of the motion. It is not just about dying or the dead but also the living who remain. That can indicate straight away the multifaceted nature of the policy that is required. There will not be any disagreement about the motion because we all strongly agree with it. I hope that the motion will be treated with a degree of urgency.

I hope we will not just agree on this, because we all support the motion, but also treat it with a degree of urgency. There are ways of means of doing that. The role the Joint Committee on Health and Children has already played is an indication of the opportunities we have to progress this motion very quickly. The motion is comprehensive and well thought out and flags many of the headings to which we have to give consideration. It would be helpful if the Joint Committee on Health and Children, over a number of hearings, invited various interested parties to appear before it, now that Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell has provided a focus for us and let it play a role.

Everybody here will have visited somebody who was dying, whether at home or in a hospital, and each environment is different, but the public environment is a particularly important one. The smallest thing in a hospital, when visiting someone who is dying, can leave one with a bad or a good feeling or a good memory. It all comes down to staff and their training. In general, my experience is that they are pretty good in this regard. Communications skills are very important in this area.

Another issue concerns the actual place where the person is left. I have seen an elderly person dying in a ward where there were other patients. It was difficult for the patient who was dying, it was difficult for the visitors and it was certainly difficult for the other elderly patients in the ward. Much of this will require a great deal of commitment. Obviously we are talking about physical space and so on to make this possible. There are other issues as well. A very good friend of mine who died in the past three weeks had attended a meeting with me two weeks previously. Due to a double brain tumour, the person lasted only 14 days, which was shocking for everybody involved. It was interesting to note that she sent for her friends to come in and plan her funeral with her. This is becoming quite common and it shows how the culture is changing. We are making decisions on what music we want played. This is important to the relatives and friends as it helps them to grow with the reality that they will lose a relative, a loved one and a friend.

So far as the motion is concerned, any one of us could virtually write a document on this, referring to the points we have noticed over a period. While I was a member of the town council in Cashel, a very distraught lady came to visit me. She explained the reason she was so upset. She said she could not sleep at night thinking of Jack's feet, God be good to him, out under the kerbs. What had happened was that Jack had died and been buried, and subsequently, the council made a decision to lay a path in the cemetery, putting it over his feet. One wonders if that means much to anyone, but to that lady it meant everything. She could not sleep at night. Even though I am smiling, I could understand it for the person involved.

One must also remember there are 3,500 to 7,000 people in Ireland who are suffering from mental problems as a result of bereavement. That is understandable because of the legal issues involved. I have often reflected on this at a wake. We help people to get through the immediate grief and we are very good at that. Those who are bereaved are able to smile and talk. However, when they return to their own homes after all the sympathisers have gone, the reality, which is huge, hits home. There is a trauma involved in that also. We should assist in whatever way we can assist through policies and focusing people on the financial realities. Even cultural and legal issues have to be considered. I compliment Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell on starting something I believe is very important. The withdrawal of the amendment is much more than it might appear on the face of it. I think we are all beginning to realise that there is an opportunity for us to do the right thing for future generations.