Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 June 2023
47. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider extending the six-month expiration on section 24 arrangements under the Credit Union Act 1997, as the required documentation, medical assessment and court appearance required under the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015 is not achievable in the given timeframe, let alone the high costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31402/23]
View answerI thank the Deputy for his question.
In October 2021 Safeguarding Ireland wrote to the Department of Finance highlighting a possible mis-alignment between the Credit Union Act and the then Assisted Decision Making Capacity Bill.
Officials in the Department engaged extensively with, Safeguarding Ireland, all the credit unions representative bodies, and with the Department's internal legal unit on this issue. Following this engagement it was confirmed that the most straightforward way to deal with this mis-alignment was to remove Section 24 from the Credit Union Act 1997.
A transitional period of 6 months was included in the amendment to the Credit Union Act 1997 and the length of this transitional period was very much driven by the timetable for enactment and commencement of the Assisted Decision Making Capacity legislation.
The Assisted Decision Making Capacity legislation was enacted in November 2022. Compliance with the six-month expiration on Section 24 now comes under this Act and not the Credit Union Act 1997.
The credit union sector and its representative bodies have been involved with various working groups examining and developing the assisted decision making legislation since 2016. The Irish League of Credit Unions is also a member of the Safeguarding Ireland National Safeguarding Advisory Committee.
