Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Wards of court are, by definition, vulnerable and the State owes them an enhanced duty of care. The State, through the Courts Service, is responsible for the administration and investment of funds which many wards of court depend on for their living expenses. The fund is not a realisable asset in the sense of a means test. At the beginning of the economic downturn these funds lost significant value and consequently the length of duration of the award. Considering their special status and the State's responsibility to them, I have asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to compensate the wards of court for these losses in an effective manner. He has denied that the loss exists.

The Minister, Deputy Burton, has repeated that denial to some degree by claiming that the value of all funds has since recovered. That is a misrepresentation of the facts, however, because units of the funds need to be sold when money is needed to make payments to wards of court. When the value of the funds decreased between 2007 and 2009, there was a dramatic increase in the number of units that had to be sold to generate the same income. That diminished the number of units in the funds at an exceptional rate and prohibited true recovery. As a result, the funds cannot possibly provide for wards of court for the duration that was originally intended.

While I accept the Minister for Justice and Equality is directly responsible, I ask the Minister, Deputy Burton, to intervene by making a compensatory gesture to the adult wards of court on behalf of the State. I suggest she should make a disability payment available to them from now on. Such a payment would supplement and stretch their funds and thereby ensure they last for the intended period of time.

There is a precedent for looking for exceptions in means test rules. For example, compensation and awards, and the income arising from the investment of such moneys, are not taken into account when people in certain groups are means tested. I refer, for example, to those who contracted hepatitis C or HIV from blood products, to those with a disability arising from the thalidomide disaster, or to those who received awards from the Residential Institutions Redress Board. I ask the Minister to consider making a similar exception in the case of wards of court to compensate them on their losses. As such a measure would affect a small number of people, a major cost would not accrue to the State.

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