Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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674. To ask the Minister for Health the status of plans to establish a special Oireachtas committee to examine voluntary assisted dying; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59039/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the “Dying with Dignity Bill 2020” was a Private Members’ Bill which dealt with end-of-life care and sought to amend the Criminal Law (Suicide) Act 1993 to allow for a person suffering from a terminal illness to request medically assisted suicide.

The Bill passed Second Stage in the Oireachtas in October 2020 and was then referred to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice in order for the Committee scrutiny process to be undertaken.

Following completion of this process, the Committee published its “Report on Scrutiny of the Dying with Dignity Bill 2020 [PMB]” on July 21st 2021, and laid copies of the report before both Houses of the Oireachtas on the same date.

The report includes a recommendation from the Select Committee that “the Dying with Dignity Bill 2020 should not proceed to Committee stage but that a Special Oireachtas Committee should be established, at the earliest convenience, to undertake an examination on the topics raised within and which should report within a specified timeframe”.

The setting up of such a Special Oireachtas Committee is a matter for the Oireachtas itself. In this regard, it is noted that, during Dáil proceedings on November 22nd 2022, An Ceann Comhairle stated the following in response to a query on the issue: “The establishment of the committee is not really a matter for the Taoiseach. The Dáil reform committee will hear a report at its next meeting, which I think is due next week. If it agrees on that, the committee, which has been agreed in principle to be established, can proceed as soon as is humanly possible”.