Dr. Brendan O'Shea:

It is very difficult to be forensic in hindsight. We have really studied this and have engaged at a personal level with a number of different experts from abroad. We have read the huge amount of research from systems where this is available. We have presented the committee with a very brief summary in terms of how we see this, urging that there should be legislation to support it and it should be fundamentally conservative. As family doctors, another aspect of family medicine or general practice is that we frequently have particularly close long-term relationships with households and families. We have really learned to value what our patients and their families want, and in this instance particularly what the patient requires. We would be confident that if we shift the focus of power to the patient or individual, which resonates with the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act, we are likely to end up with a system that will not be perfect but will be very good.