3264. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health if she will report on the evaluation carried out on the recommendations of the report of the Joint Committee on Assisted Dying which are relevant to her Department, in tabular form; the status of consideration, intention, or implementation for each recommendation; if research has been undertaken on international systems to evaluate a potential framework for the State; her view on the introduction of assisted dying in the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55478/26]

The issue of assisted dying is a complex and sensitive matter which raises significant medical, ethical, legal and societal considerations.

The Joint Committee on Assisted Dying was established in January 2023 to consider and make recommendations for legislative and policy change in relation to assisted dying. The Committee published its Final Report in March 2024, setting out a number of recommendations, including a recommendation that legislation be introduced to permit assisted dying in certain restricted circumstances. The report was subsequently debated by Dáil Éireann in October 2024.

The recommendations of an Oireachtas Committee do not, of themselves, constitute Government policy. While a number of the recommendations relate to matters within the health sector, the report has not been adopted as Government policy and no Government decision has been taken to introduce legislation providing for assisted dying.