Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 268:

In page 66, to delete all words from and including “(1) The” in line 5 down to and including line 44, to delete page 67, and in page 68, to delete lines 1 to 7 and substitute the following:“(1) The Director shall have, in addition to the functions assigned to him or her by any other provision of this Act, the following functions:

(a) to promote public awareness of this Act and matters (including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities done at New York on 13 December 2006) relating to the exercise of their capacity by persons who require or may shortly require assistance in exercising their capacity;

(b) to promote public confidence in the process of dealing with matters which affect persons who require or may shortly require assistance in exercising their capacity;

(c) to provide information and guidance to relevant persons in relation to their options under this Act for exercising their capacity;

(d) to provide information and guidance to decision-making assistants, co-decision-makers, decision-making representatives, designated healthcare representatives and attorneys in relation to the performance of their functions under this Act;

(e) to supervise, in accordance with the provisions of this Act, compliance by decision-making assistants, co-decision-makers, decision-making representatives and attorneys in the performance of their functions under this Act;

(f) to provide information and guidance in relation to the management of property and financial affairs to relevant persons and to decision-making assistants, co-decision-makers, decision-making representatives and attorneys;

(g) to provide information and guidance to organisations and bodies in the State in relation to their interaction with relevant persons;

(h) to identify and make recommendations for change of practices in organisations and bodies in which the practices may prevent a relevant person from exercising his or her capacity under this Act;

(i) to establish a website on the internet or provide, or arrange for the provision of, other electronic means by which to disseminate information to members of the public relevant to the performance of the Director’s functions and which will, in the opinion of the Director, assist members of the public to understand the operation of this Act and the Director’s role in relation thereto;

(j) to make recommendations to the Minister on any matter relating to the operation of this Act.

(2) The Director shall have all such powers as are necessary or expedient for, or incidental to, the performance of his or her functions.”.

Amendment 268 is intended to restructure the proposed functions of the director to emphasise the director’s primary role, which will be to provide information and guidance to persons with capacity difficulties, those who will be acting as interveners under the Bill and to organisations dealing with people with capacity difficulties. Separate provisions have been included in a specific section giving the director specific powers to undertake investigations.

Amendments Nos. 273 to 276 are technical in nature. The provisions have been moved to section 57.

Amendment No. 269 is from Deputy Niall Collins, who will be aware that a new Part has been inserted into the Bill, Part 8, which sets out a legislative framework for advance health care directives. The primary objective of these provisions is to promote personal autonomy by enabling an adult with capacity to make a legally binding advance health care directive. The directive then serves as an expression of the person's will and preference regarding medical treatment in the event of their future incapacity. Advance health care directives also serve to provide health care professionals with important information about the kind of treatment people would or would not wish to receive. The addition of this new part means that Ireland is complying with the Council of Europe's recommendations 2009-2011 and 2014. I thank the Deputy for drawing attention to these important international texts. I will not be accepting the amendment on the basis that the principal issues raised have been addressed with the insertion of Part 8 in the Bill.

In respect of amendment No. 270, also in the name of Deputy Collins, Government amendment No. 255 states that the Minister for Health may make regulations requiring the director of decision support services to establish and maintain a register of advance health care directives. There are, however, a number of practical and technical challenges which need to be overcome before such a register would be established and become operational. The roll-out of the individual health care identifier by the HSE is scheduled for the end of this year. This development would facilitate the establishment of a register for advance health care directives, at which point regulations would be prepared. Therefore I will not be accepting this amendment.