Mr. Aidan Hogan:

I thank the committee for inviting us to speak here today. I am the chairperson of the NRAC national committee. NRAC is an organisation that gives a voice to people in RehabCare.

The new Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013 is very important because it will make it easier for people with disabilities to make choices and have more control in their lives. NRAC’s members sometimes need support with many things like their money, their social welfare, voting and paying bills. Up to now it has been difficult for some people to get this help. It can be hard for people to find out about their rights because they are not told about them in a way they can easily understand. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill is a very big document. We think it is really important that when the Bill becomes law, people are told about it and given information which is accessible for them like Easy Read or Braille.

Their families and services such as RehabCare will be able to help them with this. The most important thing is that anyone who needs help making decisions will be able to find out what help there is. I thank the committee.