A bill to legislate for so called ''living wills'' allowing patients to make decisions for themselves has been agreed in the Dáil.

It will now be referred to the Oireachtas Select Sub-committee on Health for further debate.

Wexford Deputy Dr Liam Twomey, who introduced the bill, said advanced healthcare directives, or living wills, are a means of taking control of what happens to individuals at the end of their lives out of the hands of medical professionals.

During the debate, Fianna Fáil's Billy Kelleher wondered how the mental capacity bill - currently before the House - would fit in with this piece of legislation.

He said he wondered if the legislation was necessary and if it was not too prescriptive.

Deputy Kelleher said that an advance healthcare decision having the same status as any other legal document might interfere with the ability of medical professionals to make decisions.

He said he agreed that the bill was not a first step to euthanasia, but added there were thousands out there who would believe that it was.

Mr Kelleher recognised the requirement for patient-centred care, but he was concerned that the proposed legislation may lead to people being put under pressure or duress by families to be prescriptive about the type of treatments they would like at the end of their lives.