Fine Gael TD Charlie Flanagan has broken ranks with his party over euthanasia, declaring he will not support the proposal to introduce assisted suicide or euthanasia in Ireland.
The Laois Offaly TD made the dissenting comments on Wednesday, on the day the Final Report of the Joint Committee on Assisted Dying was published. Following months of public and private hearings, the Comittee has recommended euthanasia and assisted suicide for vulnerable Irish people.
The Committee, consisting of nine TDs and five senators, was established in early 2023 to consider and make recommendations for legislative and policy change related to a statutory right to assist a person to end their life and a statutory right to receive such assistance.
In its report, the Committee recommended that the Government introduces legislation allowing for assisted suicide in a range of circumstances. The Committee recommended assisted suicide be legalised for a person diagnosed with a disease, illness or medical condition that is both incurable and irreversible; advanced, progressive, and will cause death; expected to cause death within six months (or within 12 months in the case of someone with a neurodegenerative disease, illness or condition; and causing suffering the to the person “that cannot be relieved in a manner that the person finds tolerable.”
Taking to X, Fine Gael spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Defence, Charlie Flanagan, said he would not be supporting legislation to introduce euthanasia, despite his own party’s stance.
“I will not be supporting legislation on euthanasia despite my party @FineGael position. Instead I will continue to advocate for assisted living, more palliative care beds, Home care teams & packages & resource specialist help thru hospice care,” Deputy Flanagan wrote.
I will not be supporting legislation on euthanasia despite my party @FineGael position. Instead I will continue to advocate for assisted living, more palliative care beds, Home care teams & packages & resource specialist help thru hospice care. https://t.co/6QkU4tE5V3
— Charlie Flanagan (@CharlieFlanagan) March 20, 2024
He further hit out at “an absence of due process,” adding:
“I cannot support this proposal to introduce euthanasia to Ireland for many reasons but the absence of due process is striking. This initiative is neither contained in the Programme for Government agreed between the three governing parties nor in my party @FineGael manifesto.”
I cannot support this proposal to introduce euthanasia to Ireland for many reasons but the absence of due process is striking. This initiative is neither contained in the Programme for Government agreed between the three governing parties nor in my party @FineGael manifesto. https://t.co/P8ESXyrObV
— Charlie Flanagan (@CharlieFlanagan) March 20, 2024
Deputy Flanagan’s comments stand in contrast to the views of his Fine Gael peers who served on the Committee, all of whom voted to recommend a change in the law. Fine Gael Senator Mary Seery Kearney, along with Fine Gael TDs Alan Farrell and Emer Higgins, all supported legalising the controversial practise.
The Committee report made a total of 38 recommendations, including that any legislation for assisted dying may entail amendments to the Criminal Law Suicide Act 1993.
Regarding conscientious objection, the Committee recommended that a doctor or healthcare professional who declines to take part, in the circumstance that the procedure is legalised, is required to refer the patient onwards to either another healthcare professional and/or national oversight body.
Dealing with the issue of capacity, the Committee recommended a functional test or decision-making capacity as part of the assessment for eligibility for assisted suicide.
The report also said that while it did not recommend that advanced healthcare directives allow for individuals to make requests for assisted dying, “consideration of the issue may be included in any review of assisted dying legislation.”
It also recommended assisted dying for “people aged 18 or over.”
Deputy Flanagan’s criticism comes as national organisation, Hope Ireland, hit out at the report, describing it as “an ideological, not medical decision.”
“They have completely ignored what was said at the committee by experts,” the organisation, which promotes positive end of life care options, said.
“The report is simply not credible.”
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying has recommended Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide for vulnerable Irish people
This is an ideological, not medical, decision
They have completely ignored what was said at the committee by experts
The report is simply not credible pic.twitter.com/XYVdE18Sfr
— Hope Ireland (@hopeire1) March 20, 2024
Independent NUI Senator Ronan Mullen, along with Chair of the Committee, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, and Deputy Robert Troy have come out against legalising assisted suicide, and have produced a set of minority recommendations – arguing that the case to introduce assisted suicide or euthanasia has not been established.
“This Report is a travesty of the evidence heard by the Committee over the past year. The case for assisted suicide and euthanasia was not established and the Report’s own words do not warrant the recommendations that it makes,” Senator Mullen said on Wednesday.
“If society was merely a collection of individuals then laws founded solely on personal autonomy might make sense. But we are not islands. We are a tangled web of interconnected and vulnerable lives, all of which are worth living. Legislation for assisted dying would endanger the lives and happiness of many people,” Senator Mullen said.