Dr. Iris Elliott:

I want to come back on the issue of the developing capacity of children and young people. While the Department is correct in saying that there is clearly a cut-off before and after 18, it is recognised that capacity develops over a period and that children and young people are able to make decisions affecting different areas of their lives as they grow and develop. I would be reluctant to see it as an automatic cut-off.

Mr. Harris has referred to general comment No. 7 of the UNCRPD, which looks at the whole area of participation of children and young people with disabilities. This would be an important area that children and young people with disabilities are engaged in, in terms of the legislative provisions. I would like to see that reflected into the development of the legislation and possibly as an Oireachtas process as well. As Mr. Harris said, there is a lot of excellent guidance both in terms of the UNCRPD but also in terms of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, of which we are also mindful.

While I appreciate that informal arrangements may be put in place in different services, that is not where we would be coming from as the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. There are human rights provisions and equality provisions, and it is not enough to be left to the different practices within individual services. What we want is a consistent national approach, underpinned by statute and completely respectful of international human rights standards.