Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 34:

In page 103, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 3 of Principal Act (Interpretation of Income Tax Acts)

81. Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “incapacitated person”:

“ ‘incapacitated person’ shall be construed in accordance with subsection (5);”,

and

(b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4):

“(5) References in the Income Tax Acts to an incapacitated person shall, except where the contrary intention appears, be construed as references to a person who is—

(a) a person who lacks capacity within the meaning of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, or

(b) a minor.”.”.

This amendment provides for an update to the definition of “incapacitated person” in section 3 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. This update is intended to bring the definition in line with advances in public policy brought about by the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 and the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act 2022. These Acts changed the law in respect of a person’s decision-making capacity from an all or nothing approach to a more flexible approach which allows for a person’s capacity to be assessed on an issue- and time-specific basis. The Acts further Ireland's compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. To this end, it is appropriate to update this definition so as to align the Income Tax Act to the new decision support framework.