Mr. James Kelly:

We worked initially with the former Department of Children and Youth Affairs on Part 8, which is related to children. At the moment, most of the revisions related to children are contained within section 25 of the existing Act. We are expanding that out in Part 8 to give its own stand-alone section, make clear what the protections for children are and set those out in statute.

We engaged with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs early in the process. In December 2019, I think, we gave that Department the initial draft of Part 8 and provisions relating to children elsewhere. We had a good working relationship with the Department over the year and a half that it took for us to get from that point to the point of publication.

When the responsibilities for the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act were transferred from the Department of Justice to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth we worked with the latter Department on the 2015 Act. We are very keen to make sure that the Mental Health Act and the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act are aligned correctly. From our discussions with the Office of the Attorney General, I know it is keen to ensure we get this right as well. This matter has been very much at the forefront of our minds. We are very lucky to have had a fruitful engagement with that Department on both the children and capacity sides over the past 18 months or so.