Fine Gael's spokesman on health Dr Liam Twomey has called for a national debate on assisted suicide, although he is opposed to the practice being legalised.
He was reacting to yesterday's Irish Times report about a severely disabled man in his 30s who was brought by his family to Switzerland where he died with the aid of a Swiss right-to-die organisation in Zurich.
Dr Twomey said he would "rather see broader debate on it, rather than extremes on both sides, as happened with abortion".
"Personally, as a doctor, I believe it should always be the job of doctors to save lives, not to take them," he said.
Dr Twomey believed that assisted suicide could lead to involuntary euthanasia. "It's just one step away from it being involuntary."
Labour Party health spokeswoman Liz McManus said she was also opposed to legalising assisted suicide, and that there were other issues relating to health that should take precedence over a debate on the issue.
Independent Mayo TD Dr Jerry Cowley said he was also against any move to change the 1993 law banning the practice.
His primary concern was that allowing for assisted suicide would create a climate of acceptance of suicide in society during a time when "the tragic suicide of younger people" was at high levels.
He also had concerns about the implications for older people by giving an impression that their lives were of less value.
He drew a distinction between assisted suicide and the Terri Schiavo case in the US. He said that, ethically, doctors were not entitled or obliged to take extreme measures to maintain life.