Dying with Dignity Bill 2020: Second Stage [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2020-10-01
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Peter Fitzpatrick (IND), Louth

I greatly welcome the opportunity to participate in today's debate. I strongly oppose the Bill before us. We in Ireland have just come through a seven-month period which has been appalling for many of our older and more vulnerable citizens. Tens of thousands of them have been confined to their homes and have seen a huge decline in their morale, health and quality of life as a result. Many have been cut off from their families and their communities. Hundreds of our older people were left isolated and alone in nursing homes and were in some cases left to die at the height of the coronavirus last April. The lack of planning and consideration for the needs of older, more vulnerable people contributed in no small way to this tragic loss of life. It is absolutely shocking that against this backdrop, when some of the most vulnerable people in our society turn on their radios these days, they are bombarded with media stories pushing the case for legalising assisted suicide. At the very time when we should be encouraging people and putting supports in place to help the morale and well-being of people who have been through so much in recent months, the Dáil is spending time talking about introducing a law that would sanction the ending of people's lives.
The title of the Bill does not convey what the Bill would actually permit, which is euthanasia, plain and simple. Euthanasia is a deeply sensitive issue for many older people and those who are most vulnerable in our community. Today is the United Nations International Day of Older Persons. It is a very sad thing that we are debating a Bill about ending life rather than talking about assisting and enriching lives on such an important day. There was a letter in The Irish Times last week from Dr. Martin Owen, a medical doctor based in Ontario, Canada. I expect all Deputies, and those on the Government side in particular, to read it. In this letter Dr. Owen pointed out that in Canada, where euthanasia was only legalised in 2016, already 81% of all euthanasia is carried out on people over 65 years of age and that one third of people is over the age of 80. The Canadian Government has proposed a new Bill which would extend euthanasia for non-fatal conditions, including many disabilities like cerebral palsy.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2020-10-01/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:48:38+00:00
Sitting date: 2020-10-01