Euthanasia Bill should be rejected
Dear Editor,
The Euthanasia Bill currently before the Dáil is a deadly piece of legislation which should be rejected. The Bill would permit assisted suicide and euthanasia for people said to be 'terminally ill'. The broad definition of 'terminal illness' inthe Bill would cover many people living with chronic illnesses and disabilities who could live for years.
Section 10, which covers capacity, states that “The fact that a person is able to retain the information relevant to a decision for a short period only does not prevent him or her from being regarded as having the capacity to make the decision.”
Therefore, if this Bill is enacted, it would be completely legal for a vulnerable person with early stage dementia to end their lives after receiving their diagnosis. On the conscientious objection rights of medical professionals’, Section 13 of the Bill clearly demands they actively refer. Doctors who are unwilling to euthanise their patients are required to ensureany patient who makes such a request of them is directed to a doctor willing to do it.
This section effectively nullifies the conscience rights of all medical professionals.The Bill should be rejected in its entirety because, if passed, i twill allow anyone who has a terminal illness to be euthanised.
Theperson with this illness does not need to be near the end of his/herlife to qualify for euthanasia or assisted suicide. For example, it would be completely legal for a person with early stage dementia, orearly stage heart disease to demand that their doctor kills them.
If adoctor has an ethical objection to deliberately killing his/her patient, the doctor must refer the patient to another doctor willingto do so.
Finally, it doesn’t make much sense to be working hard as a nation toreduce our suicide rates while, at the same time, legalising assisted suicide and euthanasia. Instead of legalising euthanasia, the Dáil should vote to put more resources into our health service, particularly in regard to supporting palliative care.
Yours.
Nicola Daveron,
Chairperson Galway For Life
St Augustine Street,
Galway
The reality of the New Abnormal
Dear Editor,
I wish to reply to Brian Doherty’s letter of September 17 in your newspaper. I agree with some of Brian Doherty’s points. I will address these and related points over the course of this reply. It is highly naïve of any person to presume some self-serving politicians in the big political parties would actually deliver adequate and effective community facilities and centres, sporting facilities, community organisations and youth work supports in addition to more effective community policing. We have had problems with anti social behaviour and crime for over 20 years in Galway city and the same type of politicians keep making the same empty false promises again and again, and blowing more hot air.
They continue to fool the people, the voters with false promises. Those who demand that the promises be kept have been fobbed off by these same politicians. And they have fobbed off many people and community organisations for all those years. Empty promises combined with fobbing people off has become a political skill used by most politicians and state officials.
We need law and order and adequate funding and resourcing for gardai especially community gardai and Restorative Justice programs. And the legal system, policing and justice systems needs to be thoroughly reformed and better resourced. This is not right wing, this is basic common sense. Even liberals and left wing persons squeal and whinge for gardai when they or their families are victims of crime. Their hypocrisy is appalling. Democracy itself is based upon and is sustained by law and order, not by liberal or left wing chaos, naivety, hypocrisy, and cover ups.
Government funding for all sectors, including community development, sports, community policing, restorative justice, healthcare, hospitals, etc. is highly constrained and limited by the fact that Ireland is bankrupt, it owes over 213 billion in its national debt and this is being added to by the covid19 issue where Ireland is being forced by the EU to make a net contribution of 16 billion euros to bail out the EU. This contribution of 16 billion euros is far higher per population size and national debt per capita than other EU countries.
By August 2020 the government budget deficit was 9.5 billion euros. The projected budget deficit for 2020 is 30 billion euros ; a massive budget deficit ! Ireland had a 38 billion euro national debt in 2007 (NTMA and Finfacts ) no it is over 213 billion euros and rising rapidly. This massive increase in the Irish national debt occurred as a result of the crash in 2008 and the bank and speculator bail outs forced on the Irish government (by EU, ECB and IMF ) and the accompanying austerity policies, higher unemployment, lower tax revenues, and recession which cost the economy over 100 billion euros (Patrick Honohan: Cost of banking crisis ‘more than €100bn’, Irish Times, March 11th, 2015 ). By year end, 2020, every person in Ireland could owe close to 50,000 euros each. The New Abnormal is getting ever more abnormal.
The ‘New Abnormal’ being enforced by governments today here and around Europe means that more debt will be piled upon already massive debt to crucify the Irish people and nation. This new abnormal is destroying businesses, careers and whole economies and further reducing the tax paying capacity of existing taxpayers. And more austerity and cutbacks are on the way. This means more cutbacks to community organisations, youth work, sports, community police, etc. Yes indeed, the New Abnormal !
The most abnormal part of this New Abnormal is the fact that debt is money created out of nothing by commercial banks and central banks, and 97% of all this new money is created by commercial banks. The interest itself is not created when the money is created and it must be extracted from the existing money supply creating instability over time.
And our governments, taxpayers, the ill and sick, communities, ordinary people are sacrificed and denied essential public services and investment in order to pay this money back to bankers who created it out of nothing. These same weasel politicians are too scared to fob off the bankers. This weird and unjust debt slavery lies at the root of most of your social, community and economic problems. It’s a pity your schools, colleges and Universities don’t teach you the economics of the real world.
I would suggest that Brian Doherty and people like him throughout Ireland address these issues mentioned above. Indeed there will be no progress in this country until these issues are comprehensively dealt with.
Yours,
M Duignan,
Galway.
Students are being scapegoated for Spanish Arch scenes
Dear Editor,
A lot of people got onto a tizzy last Monday night/Tuesday morning because of crowds of students who congregated at the Spanish Arch in Galway, videos of which were circulated on social media.
People need to cop on and look at themselves.
Everyone loves a scapegoat because it deflects attention away from themselves and their own bad behaviour.
When I see social distancing in general in Galway I hope I can cope with the shock of such a spectacle to my system.
Regards
Tommy Roddy
Lower Salthill,
Galway.
