Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Even though we can probably predict what will happen because it was recommended that the reservation be removed in the case of Canada, Kuwait and Singapore, the Government's position is that it disagrees with the UNCRPD committee and we will probably stand our ground anyway as a result. That is what I take from what the Minister said. If we hang on to that reservation, which, as the Minister stated, I do not agree with, under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act, the appointment of decision-making representatives occurs by means of application to the Circuit Court. This form of substitute decision-making is significant because it involves compromising an individual's legal capacity and his or her rights under the UNCRPD. While I have to accept that the Minister and the Decision Support Service are happy with this situation, I am concerned that it occurs through the Circuit Court because the judgments are not recorded there, which is another aspect that I was not aware of until recently. I am not stating that they should be, but that creates circumstances whereby there can be inconsistent rulings because it is not as though there is a precedent whereby the decision is recorded and some norm or practice is established. There could be different standards in different district courts around crucial human rights issues. At the very least, this is irresponsible. Is the Department looking at putting in place mechanisms to ensure that there will be some consistency in terms of judgments? I know that they are not normally monitored in the courts in question. In this instance, however, could they perhaps be monitored to ensure that there is a level of consistency rather than a complete lottery in the context of something so important to people?