Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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I do not have many questions but I will make a few comments. I thank all the witnesses for attending. One thing on which I agree with all of them is that the recommendations the committee will make will require very difficult decisions. Even listening to the comments made by Mr. Wall, Mr. Curran and Mr. Ahern, there does not seem to be unanimity on how we should progress this matter and take it into the future. Mr. Ahern is saying assisted dying should be restricted to cases of terminal illness and end of life, which may not be what we are hearing from the other two speakers.

I welcome all the witnesses and thank them for sharing their experiences. It took great courage to do that. I do not know Ms Walsh very well but she is from my own home town and I am aware of the good work being done and Donal's legacy in the community, working with schools, hospice and palliative care. I compliment her on the work she has been doing over the past ten years.

The committee has already had discussions on the ethical, legal and constitutional side of things. We have also heard about the Dutch and Swiss experiences, which are not on all fours with each other either. I was struck by a comment made by a representative of Dignitas that nobody wants to die but nobody wants to live like. That was how he summed up the issue and I thought it was very telling.

I agree with Mr. Wall that we should explore every avenue and have a full and frank discussion about all the various forms that assisted dying takes. I do not necessarily agree that the religious narrative has come into the conversation in this committee. I certainly have not heard it and do not think it is particularly relevant. We had discussions on who was invited to attend and I am not in favour of excluding anyone just because he or she has a particular world view or religious view.

Mr. Wall used the term "so-called slippery slope". Even the representatives from Dignitas and those who spoke about the Dutch model have conceded that there has been a broadening. While I am not sure I would use the phrase "slippery slope" either, there certainly seems to have been a broadening since legislation was introduced.

I agree with Mr. Curran that there are no guarantees regarding what can happen in the future.

It is difficult, but we will certainly be trying to listen as best we can to everything. We will try to confine it to this issue rather than dealing with any other issues that may or may not be relevant.

A comment was made about palliative care. In the county I come from, palliative care is unusual, because we get much criticism coming into our office about the health services. People take the time to tell us that something is wrong with the healthcare system, whether it is to do with GPs, orthopaedics or the availability of services. On palliative care, however, not only do I never hear criticism of it in the county, but the people contacting us tell us it is the best service they have ever had. It is important to say this. I would not say the people involved make a lot of noise but I would listen to those who are at the coalface and dealing with people. They will be able to speak for themselves, though, because I understand they will be coming to the committee in the months to come.

I again thank all the witnesses for sharing their experiences with us. It is the first time we have had people here who have actually lived the experience of having loved ones who have considered assisted dying or some sort of assistance in easing their way out of this world. I thank them for that.