Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 November 2023
52. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will provide details on the abolition of wardship and the operationalisation of the assisted decision-making Acts and the Decision Support Service; how many applications have been received by the Decision Support Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48475/23]
View answerOn 26 of April this year I commenced the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, along with the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act 2022.
Since commencing the Act, a total of 631 completed applications for a range of decision support arrangements have been submitted to the Decision Support Service (DSS). Of those applications, 67 have so far been fully processed and the relevant decision support arrangement put in place. In addition, there are a total of 2,635 draft applications registered on the DSS system that are at various stages of completion prior to being formally submitted for processing.
In relation to the figures for those exiting wardship, the Courts Service report receipt of 67 applications for discharge. Of those, 2 people have been fully discharged to date and another 15 have been listed for discharge in November and December, as momentum around the new legislation increases.
Commencement of the Assisted Decision-Making Act brought an end to wardship in the State for adults, by repealing the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act 1871 and replacing the wards of court system with the new process for appointing tiered decision support arrangements that is now in effect. All existing wards of court will exit wardship on a phased basis over the coming three years.
Wardship is a disempowering system that places a third party’s assessment of a person’s “best interests” above that person’s own will and preference. I am very pleased to have been able to progress a landmark legal reform delivering that changes the previous law on capacity from the status approach of the wardship system to a flexible functional approach, where capacity is assessed on an issue and time-specific basis.
The new system of decision support arrangements is supporting people to continue to exercise control over their daily affairs and to carry on with lives of their choosing, even in the context of diminished capacity.
