Mr. Silvan Luley:

I will make a very short comment regarding palliative care. Maybe the Deputy should go back and ask those palliative care doctors in Ireland what they are afraid of and why they are against assisted dying and assisted suicide or voluntary euthanasia. Is it a lack of information? Do they not know what it is all about? Quite honestly, digging a ditch between palliative care and assisted dying is the most stupid thing to do because these two things go hand in hand. Digging a ditch is negative for the patients. The ones suffering are the patients because they suffer as a result of oversized egos of some people, maybe medical doctors or others, who think they know better than the patient what is good for the patient. This pure paternalism and arrogance of certain people who think they know better as to what is good for the patient must be done away with. It is for the patient, the individual, the person, to decide what happens to their life in terms of healthcare elements and it is for them to decide how they lead their lives and how their life will end within the framework of the law of course, but the decision is for no one else.