Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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As the Deputies noted, the Bill proposes to change the role of an attorney under the Act. The reason for this is that it is considered necessary to give clarity on medical legal decision-making. Amendment No. 14, which is being spoken about here, proposes to re-include treatment decisions as part of the role of enduring power of attorney.

We consulted significantly with the Department of Health on this and the view is that the appropriate place for medical treatment decisions lies with advance healthcare directives, AHDs, and designated healthcare representatives. While I accept that in some cases this will require some additional administration by the relevant person and the decision supporter, the importance of the clarity here should not be underestimated. The removal of treatment decisions from EPAs ensures that there can be no ambiguity between decisions included in EPAs and those included in advance healthcare directives. This clarity is really important to medical professionals treating relevant persons with a registered advance healthcare directive, particularly in cases where either urgent or even life-or-death decisions are required. The supporting statements of an AHD alongside the explicitly health-focused role makes a designated healthcare representative the appropriate decision supporter in such a situation. The DSS can and will work to reduce any administration from this process. It is important to state that it is possible for the same person to act as an attorney and as a designated healthcare representative.

In answer to Deputy Whitmore's question, the reason for the change is to give absolute clarity in some of these life-or-death situations where the potential of two documents saying different things could cause real confusion to a medical practitioner having to make a determination.