Assisted dying in Ireland

Ireland is in a period of significant political and social examination of end-of-life rights. The Supreme Court ruled in Fleming v Ireland (2013) that there is no constitutional right to die, but it made clear that the Constitution does not prevent the Oireachtas (Parliament) from legislating for it.

In March 2024 the Joint Committee on Assisted Dying published a landmark report recommending legislation to allow assisted dying in restricted circumstances, and in October 2024 the Dáil voted to take note of it. Despite this progress and public support, the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2024 lapsed when the Dáil was dissolved in November 2024. No new bill has been introduced since, and in 2026 the Government said it had not yet decided what to do, leaving the practice illegal.

Quick Overview

From prohibition to parliamentary debate.

For decades, Ireland held some of the strictest prohibitions on suicide and assistance in dying. While suicide itself was decriminalised in 1993, assisting someone remains a serious crime.

The landscape shifted significantly with the case of Marie Fleming (2013), a woman with multiple sclerosis who challenged the ban. Although she lost, the ruling made clear that Parliament had the power to change the law. This led to the Dying with Dignity Bill 2020 and, after scrutiny by the Justice Committee, the formation of a special Joint Committee.

In 2024 that Committee recommended a change in the law, proposing that assisted dying be allowed for people with an incurable, progressive illness expected to cause death within six months (or twelve months for neurodegenerative conditions). With the lapse of the 2024 Bill on the Dáil’s dissolution, campaigners are now pushing the new government to bring forward the recommended legislation.