Ms Rachel Woods:

The Senator has articulated all of the most difficult issues with regard to any framework the Oireachtas may decide to put in place. She has articulated very well all of the difficulties and issues that would have to be grappled with. I do not have any easy answers to them. They are there. If legislation were to be put in place, it would have to attempt to address them as well as possible. Other jurisdictions have attempted to do that. As I have already said, the Department of Justice considers many of these to be areas for others with greater expertise. The views of the medical profession would be more expert than our own with regard to any framework to be put in place that involves end-of-life care and decision-making in that regard. There would also be policy issues for the Department of Health.

Legislation is able to provide safeguards. The safeguard we have at the moment, the prohibition, is legislative. That is what is there. We have an outright ban and prohibition at the moment. I have a certain degree of confidence that legislation can set safeguards that are as tight as considered necessary under any recommendations made. However, these are very difficult issues and there are a lot of different views and a lot of choices to be made within that framework.