Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Parliamentary privilege is considered to apply to the utterances of members participating online during a committee meeting when their participation is from within the parliamentary precincts. There can be no assurances in relation to participation online from outside the parliamentary precincts, and members should be mindful of this when contributing. This committee discusses dying, including suicide. Support information can be found on the committee's web page.

Our business today is engagement on the topic of the ethics of end-of-life care. This is part of the module on ethics and professional issues. I warmly welcome: Dr. Annie McKeown O'Donovan, who received her doctorate in philosophy from the University of Galway in 2022 and who now works in the centre for transformative learning at the University of Limerick; Dr. Thomas Finegan, assistant professor with the department of theology and religious studies at Mary Immaculate College; and Dr. Kevin Yuill, CEO of Humanists Against Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia and associate professor of American history at the University of Sunderland.

We are grateful to them for sharing their knowledge with the committee. We will start first with the opening statements, which will be five minutes each. I call Dr. Annie McKeown O'Donovan first.