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

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I am glad to get this opportunity. I thank the witnesses. I have not been in the room long but I have been listening to them in my office upstairs. I thank the members of the committee for their questions as well.

It is a very important and interesting debate. I thank the palliative care team we have in County Kerry. They are leaders in this area and do wonderful work for people in County Kerry who are very ill. We thank all the fundraisers and all the people behind setting up that unit attached to Kerry General Hospital. We all appreciate the work being done there. The only thing is that we hope we will not need it ourselves for a long time yet anyway.

I believe Senator Mullen, in particular, asked very important questions. I will not be asking all those questions again because I concur with a lot of what he has been saying. I agree with him in the most of what he has been saying. I was very concerned when I heard mention of the morphine being turned up and that this is actually turning off the life in someone's heart. I was with someone in recent times and he was talking to me and he was fine. The next thing the instructions came that the morphine was to be turned up. That man did not speak any more to me. There were only hours in it. I honestly feel in my heart that man would not have died as quick as that anyway. I do not know how much longer he was going to live, but I am concerned that decision hastened his departure into another place or world. We do not know where people go, but we do believe that the very most of good-living people do go to heaven. We believe in that. I am very concerned about the aspect Senator Mullen asked about.

Regarding assisted dying, I stand for trying to assist people to stay alive. It is my firm belief we should be doing more for people to help them to stay alive longer. We all know, public representatives in particular, what people go through with chemotherapy and to stay alive. When they are in good health, people tell us they would not want to go through that.

Then you would hear of someone who turned down the chemotherapy option or whatever, and you would hear people saying that was the right thing for them to do. Maybe they were at a very advanced age and not strong enough to go through the chemotherapy.

Do we as human beings look at things differently when we are in good health? When the body is getting weary or sick or whatever, do people's minds change and their focus then is on staying alive and they will not refuse any option given to them to stay alive? I believe that is the case. Our minds change. While we might have said we do not want to go through that at the end of our days if we come to that, do our minds change as we slowly get sicker? Who can be sure that people have not changed their minds? The people inside in the Chamber change their minds every minute. I would like to hear what the witnesses say about that.