Ms Patricia Rickard-Clarke:

On the issue of euthanasia, Senator MacSharry might know that the Law Reform Commission produced a report in 2009 on the question of the recommendation of legislation for advanced care directives. That was following an issue that had arisen in the public arena about the need to have this legislation. The commission was not looking at that stage at the law on homicide, which includes assisted suicide and euthanasia as criminal offences. It was saying that it had not even got off the blocks in terms of considering people's wishes at the end of life. We need that conversation, and we need the legislation on advance care planning. In the research the commission did it was very clear that if we had a good legal framework in terms of planning for the end of life, the debate would move away from assisted suicide and euthanasia to a later stage, but we have not even started that.

I mentioned the various international obligations. In 2009 the Council of Europe recommended that member states must have facilities in place to allow people the right to self-determination and autonomy, the right to enduring power of attorney and the right to have an advance care directive. We badly need legislation to comply with our international obligations in that regard.

On end-of-life-proofing of buildings, the forum is talking about cases in which people die at home. It is about the adaptation of a room or, in terms of local authorities' development plans, the need to consider having wider doors in particular rooms in buildings or in communities. Many people now are choosing not to be buried in the traditional manner and we must take account of people from other nationalities, etc., living in Ireland. In the community and in the public arena we need buildings and facilities for people if they choose to be buried there. There is also the question of crematoriums and so on, because more people are opting now to be cremated, but we do not have proper facilities in terms of public buildings, or even in our own homes, to deal with such issues.

On the national strategy, I come at that issue from a non-health-care perspective. In the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill we have the legislation on capacity but we have not yet got the detail of the Bill on advance care directives. That proves that there is not always the interdepartmental coming together that is required. From a legal perspective, we must have a strategy to allow people to assign enduring power of attorney so that when people lack capacity we are not into the courts system. Similarly, in terms of their care, we have the advance care directive.

Regarding wills, we all know that not making wills causes great hardship to people and families. When people are ill and dying I am averse to people running in asking them to sign pieces of paper or whatever. If they have not made a will, that is not the time to do that. There must be advance planning in all of those areas. It is vital that all Departments with responsibilities in this area come together to develop an end-of-life strategy. I hope I have answered the questions.