Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

All of us have learned a lot of very valuable information about this issue. We have seen other jurisdictions, where they have had different experiences and different parameters for those who can avail of assisted dying. One size does not fit all. Other countries are a bit more liberal with regard to those who can avail of assisted dying. Would that fit in Ireland? I do not think so. As legislators, I do not think we would go down the route that some countries have gone. That is my own opinion, but I think there is a majority view, not only among the public but also in this House, that we need to do something about this issue. Obviously, we are having the committee and so forth, and I hope we will legislate for assisted dying.

Voluntary assisted dying is not compulsory. There is no country in the world where somebody says, "Okay, you are going to die. You have to die by assisted dying." There is no country in the world. It is a voluntary decision, and that is the way it should always stay.

We are the legislators. We write the laws that will govern any future legislation, and that needs to be robust with safeguards and relatively strict criteria for those who can avail of assisted dying. I will believe that will happen. There is a momentum among the Irish public and in this House on the need to legislate around assisted dying and the need to deal with all the other deficiencies around palliative care and so forth. We need to do that. Obviously, there are people, including the witnesses, who, even if all those situations were in place, would still be opposed to it, and I respect that.

However, this question comes down to the person. The most important voice in all of this debate is the person who may find themselves in the situation where they may want to avail of assisted dying. That is the most import voice in that situation, not me, Ronan, Michael or anybody. In that set of circumstances, a person should have a choice. In order to have that choice, we as legislators need to change the law. That is my point. With safeguards and robust legislation, that can happen and hopefully it will. I think many people are waiting for this to happen and hopefully it will happen very soon.