David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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We do repeat ourselves on this committee.

The topic comes back to whether we legislate. There are rare cases but there have been examples of citizens going to court to vindicate what they see as their rights, their autonomy and so on. I am sure the witnesses will appreciate they are very difficult cases, some of which were in the public domain. The people who took those cases - having met some of their family members, I would keep an open mind on this issue because I am genuinely here to listen to what is being said - would not describe the request of their loved ones as suicide. From their perspective, they would have had access to good-quality palliative care and they would have had clarity of mind. They would have been comfortable, inasmuch as they can be comfortable. They would have a difficulty with using the term "assisted suicide" to describe these cases. Would the witnesses accept that?