Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank everyone for their presentations and the information provided so far. We are coming quite close to the end of these committee hearings. When I came in first, and this still remains the case, I leaned towards there being assisted dying in certain circumstances. What has not become apparent to me are those certain circumstances. I still find myself in this situation at the end of these committee meetings, so I need to get very clear, very quickly as we approach the end of our deliberations.

In saying that, I direct my questions to Professor White. When he referred to looking at the "ethical values that should underpin the law in this area", I suppose these ethics are somewhat on a sliding scale in terms of how to determine what the limited circumstances are in this regard. When we then widen out these circumstances, the ethics change in respect of their balancing or weighting. I am wondering now about how we can come up with a structure in which we can take and balance those ethics against circumstances. I am also wondering whether setting out those circumstances should be done in the drafting of the legislation or if it should be the case that those guiding principles and ethics actually underpin the decision-making on a case-by-case basis. I wonder if Professor White could go into a little more detail concerning how the balancing of those ethics against the legislation currently in place resulted in what those limited circumstances were, and what they are. Was any consideration given to using those underpinning ethics when people apply for or requesting assisted dying, rather than in the context of the drafting of the legislation?

As I sit down to figure out what I think about this matter, I am wondering how we can apply those ethics that underpin the law currently and how we can apply them to each and every situation that then results in legislation. I am not sure if I am being clear about what I am asking, but Professor White can let me know if he needs me to elaborate further.