Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for being with us today and for all the work they do on a regular basis within all our communities. I am linked in with Pieta House and with many counselling services in my constituency so I am aware of the lifesaving work that psychiatrists, counsellors and NGOs do for suicide prevention. I value our guests' perspective. This has been a very unusual committee for us. There has been an awful lot of diverging viewpoints. My own perspective on this issue has shifted in and out, depending on whom I am speaking to. That is why it is so valuable for us to hear from experts in the field and from people who have practical experience.

My first question is to the representatives of College of Psychiatrists of Ireland. I have read their submission and the language in the conclusion is stark. They have spoken about this potential legislation as representing a fundamental and harmful reversal on medical care, running counter to the efforts of society in general to prevent deaths through suicide and that it may risk people dying from treatable psychological distress and mental illness. That is stark and sobering. I want to get an understanding of the background of this paper. It was done two years ago and prepared by the human rights and ethics committee before going to the college council for approval. I would like to understand the context of it within the general membership and alumni of the college. Is the report representative of the opinions of the industry?