Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is the point I was making. She made a presumption that our witness did not have the ability to stand up for herself and, if she was being interrupted, being able to say that for herself. We must be very careful. That was extremely powerful.

Dr. McDonagh highlighted in her statement that the voices of other people with disabilities are sidelined and, at times, minimised. Will she suggest recommendations for how to ensure the voices of people with disabilities are more centred in discussions that will affect their lives?

Professor O'Neill said he did not wish to see a situation in which suffering would be left unrelieved. I think that was in reply to one of my colleagues. Is there any instance in which he feels assisted dying may be warranted? I think of the awful disease that is motor neurone disease. It is a life sentence because there is no cure for it. The prognosis is so desperate and the final days, weeks and sometimes months can be horrendous for the patient and families. That is only one instance I can think of. I am not for one minute suggesting that people who suffer from that should avail of the option but I am giving it as an example. In one of his replies, he said that despite robust frameworks being in place, they can be eroded over time and he predicted that. A concern many people have is that if the Irish adopted a model with an extremely robust, limited set of criteria for the people who may avail of it, that could be eroded over time. Why does he make that prediction?