Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 July 2020
1013. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to commit to a timeline for the commencement of all sections of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 especially in relations to wards of court [20763/20]
View answerThe Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (“the 2015 Act”) provides a modern statutory framework to support decision-making by adults with capacity difficulties. The 2015 Act was signed into law on 30 December 2015 but has not yet been fully commenced. The Act provides for the establishment of new administrative processes and support measures, including the setting up of the Decision Support Service (DSS) within the Mental Health Commission (a body under the Department of Health).
A number of provisions of the 2015 Act were commenced in October 2016 in order to progress the setting up of the Decision Support Service and enable the recruitment of the Director of the DSS. Ms Áine Flynn was appointed Director of the DSS on 2 October 2017. The commencement of Part 8 of the Act, which provides a legislative framework for advance healthcare directives, is a matter for the Minister for Health. The Minister for Health brought some provisions of Part 8 of the Act into operation on 17 October 2016 to provide for the establishment, by the Minister for Health, of a multi-disciplinary group to make recommendations to the Director of the DSS in relation to codes of practice on advance healthcare directives. In anticipation of the completion of that process, the Minister for Health commenced the remainder of section 91 on 17 December 2018.
Part 6 of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 provides for the phased transition from adult wardship to the new decision-making support arrangements that will be available under the 2015 Act. It provides for the review by the wardship court of the capacity of all current adult wards of court within three years of the commencement of Part 6 of the 2015 Act. In each case, the ward shall be discharged from wardship and the court shall order that the property of the former ward be returned to him or her. The safeguards and procedures of the 2015 Act will apply to a former ward who transitions to any of the new decision-making support arrangements available under the 2015 Act. The current wards of court system will continue to operate until Part 6 of the 2015 Act is commenced. It is not possible to commence Part 6 of the Act until the DSS is operational and ready to roll out the new decision-making support options that will be available under the 2015 Act.
A range of amendments to the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 have been identified as necessary for the proper operation of the 2015 Act, taking account of issues raised by the Mental Health Commission, the working groups developing draft codes of practice under the 2015 Act, and submissions received from other bodies. The amendments to the 2015 Act will be brought forward by way of a stand-alone Bill. Work is ongoing in my Department on the General Scheme, with a view to Government approval being sought as soon as possible for the priority drafting of the Bill.
The implementation of the 2015 Act also requires that the DSS is fully operational and in a position to offer services including the new decision-making support options. A high-level Steering Group comprising senior officials from my Department, the Department of Health, the Mental Health Commission, the Courts Service and the HSE, together with the Director of the DSS, is overseeing the establishment and commissioning of the DSS and this work is ongoing. The Steering Group has given detailed consideration to the feasibility of commencing the remaining provisions of the Act however, due to the complexity of the Act and the interconnectivity of its provisions, it is not possible to make any further commencement orders until the DSS is operational. The DSS, led by its Director, is working on putting in place the necessary infrastructure to support the full commencement of the Act. The infrastructure required includes, amongst many other elements, ICT capability for the DSS. These preparations are being implemented under the oversight of the Steering Group and will allow for commencement orders for the main operative provisions of the 2015 Act to be made when the necessary preparations have been completed to enable the DSS to roll out the new decision-making support options.
My Department has sought and received funding, through the Estimates process, over the last three years to assist the DSS in delivering on its mandate. Further funding will be necessary through the Estimates process in 2020 and 2021. In the interim, and subject to the funding allocation, my Department, in conjunction with the DSS, the Mental Health Commission and other stakeholders have agreed to an implementation plan which anticipates commencement of DSS services in mid-2022. There are also critical dependencies for the DSS on other organisations, including, for example, the Courts Service, the HSE and the Department of Health amongst others, which need to be delivered in order to achieve this timeline. The Steering Group has been meeting regularly to ensure a coordinated approach to the implementation of this project.
As this is a function that is due to transfer, it will of course be a matter for my colleague, Mr. Roderic O'Gorman, T.D., the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, to bring this matter forward.
