Seán Sherlock
Question:1252. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the timeline for the full commencement of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. [20198/21]
View answerWednesday, 21 April 2021
Questions (1252)
Written answers
The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (the 2015 Act) provides a modern statutory framework to support decision-making by adults with capacity difficulties.
The Act was signed into law on 30 December 2015 but has not yet been fully commenced. Eleven sections have so far been commenced to allow the Director of the Decision Support Service (DSS), the agency which will support the legislation, to be appointed; to allow work to begin on codes of practice; and most recently to repeal the Marriage of Lunatics Act to allow wards to marry if they have capacity to do so. The Government made a commitment in the Programme for Government to commencing the 2015 Act, recognising the importance of the much needed reform it represents. The timeline for commencement is June 2022.
Before the Act can be fully commenced, the DSS must be ready to provide the services required under the Act. Funding of €5.8 million was secured for the DSS in 2021 to ensure that it can commit to all of the preparations necessary for its establishment including building the required ICT infrastructure; hiring staff and panel members; and putting in place the forms and other processes needed to administer the new support options that will be available for people with capacity difficulties once the legislation has been commenced.
My Department chairs the High-Level Inter-Departmental Steering Group that is preparing for the commencement of the 2015 Act. There are representatives from relevant sectors on the group including from the Department of Health, the Department of Justice, the Courts Service, the HSE and the DSS. They meet monthly to resolve issues and maintain momentum towards commencement of the 2015 Act in June 2022.