John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In regard to the arguments put forward I am taking another view on this. Reasons for supporting voluntary assisted dying would include loss of autonomy and independence, loss of dignity and loss of enjoyment of what was previously enjoyed, fearing systems and being personally really reliant on others for hygiene. People close to me experienced that and had what I would regard as a blessed period in their lives towards the end of life. It is valid for both cases. It is important to make that point. It jarred with me a little and I am struggling with it but that does not mean I will not overcome it. Maybe I will not but I resisted the naming of conditions because people are living with these conditions and they live as full lives as they can. I resisted naming them because I imagine that could be frightening for people who are watching this. However, it is a different perspective. Because we are dealing with the very end of the end of life, that possibly gives that a context. However, the naming of just one condition particularly jarred with me because I can think of other conditions and I certainly, as a member of the committee, did not want to focus exclusively on a condition as being a necessary prerequisite for interventions.