There is a strange phenomenon here in Ireland.

I have noticed it several times in the past and it came to the fore again this week.

It is the concept that if something isn’t illegal then it somehow must be compulsory.

This was particularly noticeable in two previous occasions . One was where they were debating the introduction of divorce into law. Immediately we were inundated with cries from presumably happily married people that they didn’t want to get divorced and that the law must be stopped at all costs. Then we had the abortion debates and once again we were told that no foetus would be safe and that all pregnancies would be terminated.

Needless to say, contraception was brought in and couples were still able to miraculously conceive. Divorce was brought in and most marriages survived. Homosexuality was decriminalised and heterosexuals didn’t suddenly change their minds overnight. The only thing the abortion laws did was to somewhat stem the flow of women heading for the UK for a termination.

Now they are talking about assisted suicide. Well, what they are really talking about is the right to die with dignity. This is a law which I fully and unreservedly endorse. I have no wish to either suffer a long and painful death, nor to I wish to end up as a drooling mindless vegetable in a wheelchair in some Home for the Bewildered somewhere. If I want to go by a way of my choosing then it’s my life and I should have a right to end that life if I so wish. I wouldn’t let my dog suffer a painful death so I would hope I would be accorded the same dignity.

But of course they wheeled out some grannies on the news who were terrified. They twittered about how frightened they were of the whole concept. You could see the fear in their eyes. There seems to be a general impression that if this is passed into law that nobody will be safe. Bodies will pile up in the streets. No parent [and in particular parents of a hormonal teenager] will be safe. I would have thought they would be intelligent enough to realise that there are loads of safeguards and the law really only applies to a very small number of elderly or infirm, but apparently not.

I just wish they’d legalise marijuana.

I would be forced to spend my days stoned out of my gourds.