Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 12 December 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying

Examination of Potential Consequences - Protecting and Enhancing the Provision of Palliative Care: Discussion

Professor Max Watson:

Regarding the point about Northern Ireland, I just realised that if we have one part of this island with certain legislation and another part with other legislation, there will be a flow between the two, and that will cause real difficulties. For example, a doctor referring could be struck off in one jurisdiction for what would be legal in the other. There is also the question of what information can travel with the patient. That information needs to travel in order to make it as good an experience as possible. These are all these nitty-gritty aspects to be considered