Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have two questions that relate to the testimony we heard yesterday from the medical professionals, who clearly asked for legal clarity. Professor Fionnuala McAuliffe went further to say that without our proximity to Britain, the questions we would face here would be very different.

We have had considerable discussion on the threat to life, suicide ideation and intent. Do we need to distinguish in legislation if a threat to life is physical or mental? Must we make that distinction? Surely the substantive weight should be given to clinical determination involving practitioners with relevant specialism where appropriate, such as oncology and other areas, as well as psychology.

Deputy Conway asked about children and I would also raise the issue for vulnerable adults. Do we need to provide for them via parallel legislation or guidelines? How would we deal with that question? Several of the legal witnesses this morning mentioned the report of the Law Reform Commission on consent, and Mrs. Justice McGuinness was president of the LRC at the time. I would welcome any guidance she could offer on dealing with the issue of consent, both for children and vulnerable adults.