Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann shall take note of the Report of the Joint Committee on Assisted Dying entitled "Final Report of the Joint Committee on Assisted Dying", copies of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on 21st March, 2024.

I thank everybody on the committee who was involved in this. It was a very thorough committee on a complex issue, but it was well worth doing. The committee ran for nine months. It had more than 100 witnesses and met, I think, 26 times. It heard from a broad spectrum in the debate. It heard from those who live in jurisdictions where assisted dying is legal and functional. The committee heard from a broad spectrum in this debate, as I said, in the areas of law, ethics, medicine, disability, palliative care, psychiatry and, more importantly, those with personal experience of being in a situation where they want to choose how they die. At the heart of this debate are personal choice and one's own mortality. That is very fundamental to every human being. I understand people in this Chamber and in our families, and members of the public, will oppose assisted dying under any guise, but it is a fundamental human right that a person should have a say in how he or she dies. We heard conflicting opinions from the medical profession, which is conflicted on this issue. There are those in that profession who oppose and support assisted dying. There is that broad spectrum in the debate. There are also people who are neutral on the idea of assisted dying who came before the committee, namely, representatives from the Irish College of General Practitioners, the Irish Hospice Foundation and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation. They all had a neutral position on assisted dying.

The report has 38 recommendations overall. It should be said that 11 out of the 14 members of the committee supported legislative change. The key recommendations around that change concern eligibility, safeguards, capacity, ethical oversight, and a legal framework for how assisted dying could be administered. There is also provision for a clause for those in medicine who have a conscientious objection. It is very important that we deal with that. We were unanimous regarding palliative care in Ireland, which is very good. There should be more funding for palliative care. We all agreed with that. We also agreed that in certain situations, for somebody who is coming to the end of his or her life, palliative care will not ameliorate some of the pain and some of the management of that person's death. Again, that is fundamental to where people are moving. The report was very comprehensive and thorough.

On public opinion, if we had this debate 15 years ago, mine would be a very minority view in terms of where we are. However, things have moved on for the good in Ireland. It is not perfect by any means, but people have moved on regarding social issues, including women's healthcare and marriage equality. This is one of those issues that stops us in our tracks and ask us individually and collectively what we would do in a situation where one of our loved ones is coming to the end of his or her life. Opinion has shifted. Recent opinion polls in the past four or five years have indicated a clear majority would support assisted dying in Ireland and legislation for it. We see that the report's recommendations reflect public opinion. That is indicative of where we are at in this country. We are humanely looking at ways that this could affect individuals and their loved ones. It is very important.

The cutting edge of those who have been public about their own situation, including people such as Marie Fleming, Gaynor French, Brendan Clarke and Vicky Phelan, has changed opinions. The late Vicky Phelan was truly an amazing person in many different ways. It was such a tragedy when she passed away nearly two years ago. Vicky was quite vocal in supporting choice in end-of-life care. She was instrumental to how this debate went a number of years ago. She was really instrumental in how things have moved on.

On other jurisdictions, in Britain, a Private Members' Bill was submitted yesterday by a member of the Labour Party, Kim Leadbeater. She has put forward legislation similar to the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill I put forward a number of months ago. On 29 November, there will be a long debate and a free vote on this issue in Britain, which could be enormous for where that country goes with assisted dying. That is a good thing. Somebody a lot of us admired and grew up with, Esther Rantzen, has terminal lung cancer. She said something very profound about this issue on her podcast recently. She said that most people are not afraid of dying but of how they die. Esther is very vocal about supporting assisted dying and is in a situation where she wants a choice and a say in how she dies. Again, that is a very fundamental human right.

In the past number of years, I have spoken to many people who support assisted dying and have been in extremely difficult circumstances as regards their health or that of a loved one.

This is an issue we should not be divisive about. We should listen to all sides. I have tried to listen to all sides as best as possible. I disagree with some of the terminology that people will use, but I understand that it is a person's right to object to assisted dying for many reasons, including ethical, moral and medical reasons. That is their choice. I believe assisted dying is a fundamental human right. It is a right to choice, an end-of-life choice, and people should have that right.

The report is very good. This issue has been ongoing for the last 12 years. I am proud that we have got it this far. The Dying with Dignity Bill received a Second Reading in 2020 and had the special committee. I understand, however, that it will probably be next to impossible to legislate for assisted dying during this Government's term and the next Government will have to deal with it. I hope people will read the report and it is legislated for in Ireland. That would be a very good day for those who are terminally ill and for those who want to forgo certain days, weeks or months of their lives.

This is the most profound choice and issue we have had to grapple with for a long time. In grappling with this issue, I think about the person. It may not be for you. You may never choose that. You may never be in a situation where you want to choose this path but think about somebody who could be in that situation. Think about the person who could be suffering needlessly and is going through a terrible death. I have seen at first hand somebody wanting to die and they cannot. In that situation, the person should have a choice. The only way to make that happen is for legislators such as us to change the law.

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