Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am not hearing very much that is reassuring, though, given that something like 7% of deaths in Quebec are now a result of euthanasia and assisted suicide. It has been several weeks since we looked at the figures, but the statistic is shocking.

This is why countries like New Zealand and Australia have to be a little bit careful about telling us how safe things can be if they extend the meaning of safety to address the issue of how attitudes may change over time. I want Professor MacLeod to speak to us about this interaction. He talked about practical wisdom as being something of value, similar to evidence. We all recognise that we have to honour that and in so far as we can get evidence on things, we have to treat it as the truth but am I not correct in saying that there is an awful lot here that not only do we not have evidence about, but that it would be very difficult to ever have evidence about? We are talking about shifting social attitudes and all of that.