John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I invite any of the witnesses to answer my questions. I was very taken with what Dr. O'Shea said about burden. It seems that a sense of being a burden cannot always be relieved. Taking into account all of the evidence we have heard on the type of model we might veer towards, which, in my view, would be very restrictive whereby someone would have to have a terminal illness, if I felt as though I were a burden, whether to society or to my family, in some cases relieving that burden could further impact my dignity. If the individuals caring for me felt guilty because they were of the view that they were not providing a sufficient level of care and so went the extra mile, how would that make me feel? There is an issue with regard to dignity on which I ask the witnesses to comment.

We have spoken about burden and capacity. These are key issues. As a public representative dealing with this I can see that this will boil down to a small number of concepts on which decisions will be made. The issue of burden has been opened up today. When we hear the word "burden", we think if only the State or the system could step up. The evidence is obvious that no system in the world can step up to every possible thing. Will the witnesses comment on the concept that it is affluent and educated people who avail of it. What does this speak to?

Members of the public may be watching these proceedings for the first time. One of the first contributions I made was on the importance of allowing the voice of those who have faith to come before the committee. Every faith attempts to answer the big questions. Does chaplaincy play a big role in palliative care in Ireland? As a result of the witness statements, I have been introduced to models of palliative care. Is there one whereby chaplaincy does not exist and it is a secular model? We have had contributions from the Irish Association for Palliative Care, expert groups and chaplains. They are all perfectly entitled to come before the committee. Is there a purely secular version of palliative care available in Ireland?

The fear of death was spoken about last week with regard to how it has been sanitised in Ireland. It made a big impact on me that people are terrified of dying. The two certainties are death and taxes but we never address death. It made a big impact on me as a legislator that this needs to be addressed. We sanitise it and push it as far out of the arena and as far away as possible but it is there waiting for us. There is a line from a great poem that has always had an impact on me:

Because I could not stop for Death –

He kindly stopped for me –