LAST UPDATE | 7 Mar

AN OIREACHTAS COMMITTEE is set to recommend that legislative changes be made to allow for assisted dying under certain circumstances.

The committee has been examining whether to introduce voluntary assisted dying laws in Ireland, following the passage of a bill tabled by People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny in 2020.

It is due to publish its report on 20 March, but the main recommendations have been agreed following long deliberations.

The Committee will recommend that a person with an incurable, irreversible, advanced and progressive illness that will cause death within 6 to 12 months should be eligible to be assessed for assisted dying.

The 12-month limit will apply to people with a neurodegenerative disease, illness or condition.

The Committee also states that the illness or disease must be causing suffering to the person that cannot be relieved in a manner that the person finds tolerable.

Gino Kenny, who tabled the bill, told The Journal that he’s happy with the recommendations from the Committee.

“The Committee was very thorough,” said Kenny.

“It heard from all vested interests in relation to this issue, from people opposed to assisted dying, those who were neutral, and those who were supportive of it.

“The Committee correlated all of that and decided that assisted dying should be allowed in specific circumstances.”

He added that during the lifetime of the Committee, “there was a majority that agreed in relation to assisted dying in specific circumstances and that was borne out in the recommendations”.

Kenny also told The Journal that there “doesn’t need to be a constitutional referendum on this, that was clear in relation to the Supreme Court judgments and the legal advice we received.”

“We don’t need a constitutional referendum, and even an ordinary referendum was not recommended,” Kenny told The Journal.

Kenny said it’s “now it’s up to the government” and added that he hopes there will be “draft legislation in the future”.

“I think it’s a really good day for those that have been campaigning for the past 10 years,” said Kenny.

“From Marie Fleming to Vicky Phelan and Bernadette Forde and all those who have been advocating for assisted dying.

“It’s a very complex issue, and this is a significant day in relation to it.

“We still have a good bit to go, but this is a major step towards legislation.”

The chair of End of Life Ireland Janie Lazar said that while she’s “conscious the Committee’s report won’t be published in full until 20 March, what we’re reading this morning would be a major step forward for compassionate legislation”.

She added: “We’ve been working hard to get people talking about assisted dying and about the choices that should be available to those who have no time to wait or waste. 

“We look forward to seeing the report in full.”