Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses and Ms Flynn for the comprehensive report. It was excellent and contained much important information. I have three questions. We have seen approximately 1,200 people taken into wardship since the enactment of the 2015 legislation, yet because of this slow pace, various levels of decision-making supports are not operational. Wardship is, in my opinion and the opinion of many, including Ms Flynn, a blunt instrument. We all agree that it is important that it be replaced by a new graduated framework of supports aligned to a person's need. While it is disappointing that this is taking so long, it is welcome that we are seeing real progress. The guidance from the President of the High Court regarding vaccines and wards, together with the memo from the HSE, was a welcome development in assisting healthcare professionals with approaching the matter of consent with regard to public health measures. That was an issue for me. It led me to think about how Covid had impacted us so much. We had to take a minute because the law stipulates that consent is required for vaccination. Some issues were thrown up which would highlight the importance of this Act.

We were expecting the establishment of the decision support service next year. Has Covid had an impact on that? There was an issue of funding. Where are we now? Is there likely to be more delay? It is important to properly reconcile the Constitution, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the European Convention on Human Rights.

We must support all adults who have difficulties with their decision-making capacity for medical access. Can Ms Flynn talk me through the costs? She gave some figures there. I have concerns about costs involved which are not guaranteed under this legislation. Medical card holders would be covered for any costs relating to supporting documentation from doctors but what about those without a medical card? Have we a plan to make this affordable?

There was a report entitled Mind the Gap. It was compiled by a researcher at the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at NUI Galway's Institute for Lifecourse and Society, and was commissioned by the Ombudsman for Children's office. It stated, "the supports offered under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act apply only to adults, even though children and young people with disabilities might also benefit from specific and tailored decision-making supports, especially during the transition from childhood to adulthood". Ms Flynn said that this is an Act for everyone. Is that being discussed, especially at the age where a child becomes an adult? I welcome that Ms Flynn spoke about awareness and websites. I thank her for the valuable information.