Dr. Diarmuid Quinlan:

The Irish College of General Practitioners already has a really good practitioner health programme. We are very conscious of looking after the mental well-being of our members. As part of the consideration of mental health supports for practitioners, the evidence from other countries is that clinicians who take part in an assisted dying service find it an intensely stressful undertaking and not something that is entered into lightly. Taking note of that, we would see the conscientious objection aspect as being particularly important to protect our GP and clinician members from being coerced into participating in a process to which they have a deep moral objection. That conscientious objection aspect is important, as are mental health supports. We already have very good, robust mental health supports for our members within the Irish College of General Practitioners.