Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses. I apologise for coming in late. I have another committee at the same time so I was in for the start of that.

There is a question I have been thinking about. I say this as much to the Chair and the members as to the two witnesses. We are undergoing this exploration and looking and learning from the experience of other countries and organisations. I wonder whether any other parliament has undertaken an exploration such as this and decided not to go down that route.

It would be interesting to have an engagement with those parliaments on why they made the decision that they did. Do the witnesses have any comment on that?

I have some small points and questions. Senator Mullen touched on the situation in the Netherlands. I was shocked when I saw that it allows minors from the age of 12 years to request euthanasia, accepting that parental consent is required until the age of 16 years. 12-year-olds are very young. 16- and 17-year-olds do not need parental consent. I would be very concerned about that.

I appreciate what Professor Boer said. It is good to listen to people who have moved position from one side to another of the debate. I appreciate what he said in his statement, namely that he remains non-judgmental. That is really important. To be fair, he said that it is not that he feels it should not be present at any point. Under what circumstances does he feel that assisted dying would be necessary or could be used? He said there is a big lesson for all of us in terms of the patients who fear decades of loneliness and that it should not be just about physical health. That is a major concern. We have to figure out how we as a society can support people.

With regard to Dignitas, I acknowledge that Switzerland is one of the only countries that will allow non-residents and non-citizens to access assisted dying. The witnesses spoke about 12 people from Ireland travelling there over the past number of years, but they also said that "close to 100" are now members of the organisation. Does that essentially mean that 100 people have signed up to be able to use the services of Dignitas should they so require? Have they made their wishes known to family members or those who represent them?

I refer to the evidence around advance healthcare directives. Concerns have been raised about proper informed consent and making sure that is guaranteed when relying on them. How do the witnesses feel they are implemented? What concerns would they have about them?