Professor Declan Walsh:

Deputy Dan Neville asked about assisted suicide. It is inevitable that the public debate on this subject will increase. The rapid ageing of the population in many countries is forcing the debate. As I said, most of the people who work in this field have concerns about the way the debate is presented. They are concerned about how it is playing out. When vulnerable elderly people are going into hospital, they might believe someone is going to kill them. There are serious concerns in that regard.

It is important to emphasise that everyone who is very ill should know for sure that they are going to have access, either in the community or the hospital setting, to high quality palliative care. If they have such access then with the provision and continuity of care I believe many of the difficult challenges we face could be significantly ameliorated. Anyway, the debate will continue; there is no question about it.