Mr. Jimmy Martin:

The Deputy should let me answer the question. We want people to get money as quickly as possible. We do not want to put women in a situation where they are worse off as wards of court than they are now. That would be a form of abuse of vulnerable people. In some cases wardship is clearly the best option, and we would encourage people to apply for that because it is going to be quicker than waiting. In other cases it may not be as quick. It depends on the individual case. I am not saying that this is a black-and-white situation. We have to be careful that we do not commit a new abuse on these vulnerable people by forcing them to become wards of court if it is not appropriate. It is appropriate in some cases but not in all cases. The danger of inappropriate use is illustrated by the fact that the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities would not allow for that kind of black-and-white situation to arise. The UN wants a more sophisticated solution, which will come from the new Act.