Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 26 September 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying

Assisted Dying in Europe: Discussion

Mr. Silvan Luley:

Of course, I could mention they could go to Belgium but knowing how difficult it is for someone from abroad to make use of the Belgian assisted dying law and also knowing that no country in the world, including Switzerland, wants to have people from abroad coming to their country to make use of assisted dying, that would not really make sense. This is not about proposing assisted suicide or voluntary euthanasia, or both, or one against the other. This is about asking the patient why he or she does not want to continue living, what that person's problem is and what makes that person believe their quality of life is not good enough to continue living, and then, on that basis, start to discuss the situation with that person to try to find solutions to reinstall quality of life.