Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 December 2019
416. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health if his Department is preparing regulations for the institution of a register of advance healthcare directives to allow for commencement of Part 8 of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. [53047/19]
View answerPart 8 of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 provides a legislative framework for advance healthcare directives (AHDs). An AHD is a statement made by a person with capacity setting out his or her will and preferences regarding treatment decisions that may arise in the future when he or she no longer has capacity.
The Department will explore issues relating to the establishment of an AHD Register and the associated Regulations, however the commencement of Part 8 of the Act is not contingent on these Regulations being completed in advance.
In relation to the commencement of Part 8 of the Act, my Department is fully committed to commencing these provisions as soon as possible. The development of the code of practice to accompany the AHR provisions is a key piece of work in facilitating commencement. The AHD Multidisciplinary Working Group developed a code of practice for Part 8 of the Act and submitted it to the Director of the Decision Support Service in December 2018 for consideration. When the Director finalises the Code of Practice it will be submitted to the Minister for approval before publication.
