Gino Kenny backs assisted dying legislation after committee report

Is it possible that somebody other than the chair or the vice chair can actually propose a motion? Because I was on the basis that I was the proposer. This is the first thing I heard of it. No disrespect to Ippley Nolan. If I'm at a loss, it would normally be the chair or the vice chair of a committee that would present the report. That's absolutely correct. But I wasn't aware until I came in here today that neither the chair or I don't even know who was the vice chair. I was the vice chair. You were the vice chair. Sorry, Count Corolla, I'm just merely speaking on the motion. My colleagues aren't here today, just to clarify. I'm just merely speaking on the motion, so sorry, Deputy Kenny. Well then, Deputy Kenny, you should move the motion and speak first. Yeah, I think that's… And then we'll come to Deputy Kenny. Yeah, that's fair. All right. Sorry, no, I didn't even realise you were vice chair. No, no, fine. The floor is yours, sir. Thanks. Very much. Can I call it? First of all, I'd like to thank everybody that was involved in the committee. It was a very thorough committee. It was a very complex committee, but well worth doing in terms of this issue. And the committee ran for nine months. It had over 100 witnesses and it met for over, I think, 26 times. And, you know, it heard from the broad spectrum of this debate. It heard from those that live in a jurisdiction where assisted dying is legal and functional. So the committee heard from a broad spectrum of the debate, as I said, in law, ethics, medicine, disability, palliative care and psychiatry. And also, more importantly, the personal experience of those that are in a situation where they want to choose in how they die. Because I think that's what is at the heart of this debate in terms of personal choice and one's own mortality. And that's very fundamental to every human being. And I understand there's people that would be in this chamber, people in our families, people out in the public that will oppose assisted dying under any guise. But I believe it's a fundamental human right that a person should have a say in how they die. And we heard a conflicting opinion from medicine. They're conflicted on this issue. There's also those that oppose assisted dying in medicine and those that support assisted dying. So there's that kind of broad spectrum of the debate. There's also people that are neutral on the idea of assisted dying. Namely, which came before the committee, the Irish College of GPs, the Irish Hospice Foundation and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organization. They all had a neutral position on assisted dying. So there was 38 recommendations overall. I should say 11 out of the 14 members supported legislative change. And the key recommendations around legislative change was eligibility, safeguards, capacity, ethical oversight, a legal framework on how assisted dying could be administrated. There was also a clause for those that have a conscientious objection in terms of in medicine. And I think that's very, very important that we deal with that. We were kind of unanimous in terms of palliative care in Ireland. Palliative care in Ireland is very, very, very good. And there should be more funding in terms of palliative care. And we all agreed with that. We also agreed that in certain situations, somebody that is coming to the end of their life, palliative care will not ameliorate in some of the pain and some of the management of that person's debt. And again, that's fundamental to, I think, where people are moving. Again, the report was very comprehensive and very thorough. In terms of public opinion, Ciancola, I mean, 15 years ago, if we had this debate, I think I would be in a very minority view in terms of where we are. But I think things have moved on for the good in Ireland. Not perfect by any means, but social issues. I think people have moved on in terms of women's health care, in terms of marriage equality. And I think this is one of these issues that kind of, I suppose, stops us in our tracks and asks us as a person, as a collective, what would we do in the situation where one of our loved ones is in the situation that's coming to the end of their life. And so opinion has shifted. Opinion has indicated in recent opinion polls in the last four or five years, there's a clear majority that would support assisted dying in Ireland. Clear majority to support legislation. And we've seen that, obviously, with the recommendations from the report, again, in public opinion. And that's, I think that's indicative of where we're at in this country. You know, we're looking, I suppose, looking at humanely, looking at ways that this could affect me, it could affect a loved one. So it's really important. And I think the cutting edge of those that have been public about their own situation, I think that has changed opinions. People like Marty Fleming, people like Gaynor French, people like Brendan Clark, and people like Vicky Phelan. I mean, Vicky Phelan, the late Vicky Phelan was truly an amazing, amazing person in all different ways. And it was, you know, such a tragedy when she passed away nearly two years ago. And Vicky was quite vocal in terms of supporting choice in the end of life care. And she was, I think, instrumental in terms of how this debate went a number of years ago. She was really instrumental in how things have moved on. In terms of other jurisdictions, Karen Carla, in Britain at the moment, yesterday there was a private member's bill submitted by a member of the Labour Party, Kim Lidbetter. So she has put forward a piece of legislation similar to the bill that I put forward there a number of months ago in terms of voluntary assisted dying. So on the 29th of November, there will be a big, a long debate about this issue and a free vote. This could be, like, enormous in terms of where Britain goes with assisted dying. And that's, I think that's a good thing. In just recent times, Karen Carla, somebody I think a lot of us that would have admired and really grew up was Esther Ransom. Esther Ransom has terminal lung cancer at the moment. And she said something very, very profound when I listened to her podcast recently about this issue. She was saying that, like, most people are not afraid of dying, but it's how they die. And obviously Esther is in a situation, she's very vocal about supporting assisted dying, but she's in a situation where she wants a choice and a say in how they die. And again, I think that's a very fundamental human right. And I've, I've, I suppose in the last number of years, I have spoken to many people that support assisted dying, that have been in extremely difficult circumstances in terms of their own health, a loved one. And I think, you know, it's, it's, it's an issue that we should not be divisive about. We should be listening to all sides. And I've tried to listen to all sides as, as best as possible. I disagree with some of the terminology that people will use, but I understand that's a, you know, a right of that person to object to assisted dying for many reasons. For many reasons, ethical reasons, moral reasons, medical reasons, all sorts of reasons, and that's their choice. But I believe assisted dying is a fundamental human right. It's a, it's a right about choice. It's a, it's about end of life choice. And they, a person should have that right. So, in conclusion, Cian Carla, the report is very, very good. And this issue has been ongoing for the last, I would say the last 12 years. And I'm kind of proud that we've got it this far. We've got a, you know, a second reading in 2020. We've got a special committee. But I understand that it will be probably next one, next one possible to legislate for in this government. So I think it's going to be the next government that will have to deal with it. And I really, really hope that when the report, when people read the report, but it is legislated in Ireland. Because I think that would be a very, very good day for those that are terminally ill. And those that want to forgo certain days, certain weeks and certain months of their life. This is the most profound choice and profound issue I think we've had to grapple with for a very, very long time. But I believe that, you know, when we grapple with this issue, think about the person. It may be not for you. You may never choose that. You may never be in that situation where you want to choose, you know, this path. But think about somebody that could be in that situation. Think about that person that could be suffering needlessly. That has gone through a terrible, terrible death. I've seen it first hand where somebody literally wants to die and they can't. And in that situation, Ciarán Carla, somebody should have a choice. And the only way to make that is legislators such as us is to change the law. Thank you.