The National Council of the Forum on End of Life in Ireland

The National Council of the Forum on End of Life in Ireland takes a broad life cycle approach to end of life. While anxious that health care issues are firmly on the agenda, it wants the legal, ethical, financial, educational and administrative aspects to be addressed.

It is currently engaged with a Work Plan involving ten main areas.

The National Council's founding Chairperson is Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness, the former Supreme Court Judge, and out-going President of the Law Reform Commission.

The National Council which held its first meeting in May 2010, is carrying forward the work and vision of the Forum on End of Life in Ireland which was established in 2009. 

The Council is advising on an agenda for the annual meeting of the Forum on End-of-Life in Ireland, which will next take place in Dublin on Wednesday October 12, 2011.

It has produced a Discussion Document on the case for reform and regulation of the funeral industry.   NC Funeral Industry Proposals Funeral industry.pdf (0.73 MB, Adobe PDF) 

It has also been working on the issues of Pronouncing, Certifying and Registering Death.

In its work, the National Council considers a wide range of documents and reports in relation to end-of-life issues.

Among these are the National Audit on End-of-Life Care in Hospitals in IrelandLinks to external website, the Quality Standards for End-of-Life Care in HospitalsLinks to external website, and the Ethical Framework for End-of-Life CareLinks to external website. These have emerged from the Hospice Friendly Hospitals ProgrammeLinks to external website, a project of the Irish Hospice FoundationLinks to external website.   

The Council meets at least four times a year.  Its secretarial and administrative functions  are provided by the Irish Hospice FoundationLinks to external website which is  represented on the Council.

The initial council was formed by invitation of the Irish Hospice Foundation's Project Board for the Forum and the Chairperson, Mrs. Justice McGuinness.  Membership of the National Council reflects a wide range of stakeholders and the diversity of Irish society.