Mr. Diego Castillo Goncalves:

I thank the Deputy very much for his question. On the way in which the general scheme interacts with the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act and the gaps there are between the two pieces of legislation, as we noted in our observations, we welcome the extension of the category of intermediary persons to children who are aged 16 and over. In this respect, we note that the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, as referred to by the Deputy, does not apply to persons under 18 and therefore it does not seem that it will apply to capacity assessments that will be conducted in respect of children under this general scheme. While we note that the Mental Health Commission, according to the current heads of the Bill, will prepare and publish a code on capacity assessments for children, at this time it is not clear what form these assessments will take and whether and to what extent they will actually draw on the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act. We would welcome clarity on this. We are concerned that, as the Deputy mentions, it appears that there is a gap in this regard.

As we understand, it will be a matter for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to decide on whether the principles of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 would apply to children. We urge the members of that committee to raise the matter to ensure there is joint collaboration between both Departments when it comes to the relevant legislation.