Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 40:

In page 34, to delete lines 26 to 41, and in page 35, to delete lines 1 to 24 and substitute the following:“24. (1) The terms of a registered co-decision-making agreement may be varied by agreement between the appointer and the co-decision-maker.

(2) Subject to section 14(6), a varied co-decision-making agreement shall include the signature of the appointer and the co-decision-maker (in this section referred to as “the applicants”) and shall be witnessed in accordance with section 14(7).

(3) An application to register a varied co-decision-making agreement shall be made in such form and accompanied by such fee as shall be prescribed by regulations made under section 27 and shall be signed by both the appointer and the co-decision-maker.

(4) The applicants shall, at the same time as making an application to register a varied co-decision-making agreement, give notice, in such form as shall be prescribed by regulations made under section 27, to the persons specified in section 18(3)and the application shall be accompanied by the following:

(a) the varied co-decision-making agreement;

(b) a statement by the applicants outlining the variation and why it is considered necessary;

(c) a statement by a registered medical practitioner and a statement by such other healthcare professional as shall be prescribed by regulations made under section 27 that in his or her opinion—

(i) the appointer has capacity to vary the co-decision-making agreement,

(ii) the appointer requires assistance in exercising his or her decision-making in respect of the relevant decisions contained in the varied co-decision-making agreement, and

(iii) the appointer has capacity to make the decision or decisions specified in the varied co-decision-making agreement with the assistance of the co-decision-maker concerned;

(d) details of the notice given pursuant to this subsection;

(e) any change to the information provided pursuant to section 18(4)(e)in the application to register the co-decision-making agreement;

(f) the appropriate fee, as prescribed by regulations made under section 27.

(5) Sections 19to 23and sections 25to 30shall apply to a varied co-decision-making agreement as they apply to a co-decision-making agreement with the modification that a reference to “co-decision-making agreement” in those sections shall be read as if “varied co-decision-making agreement” were substituted for “co-decision-making agreement” and any other necessary modifications.

(6) An application to register a varied co-decision-making agreement may not be made less than 6 months from the date of registration of the co-decision-making agreement which it varies, and thereafter at intervals of not less than 12 months, unless a shorter period is agreed by the Director.

(7) Upon registration of a varied co-decision-making agreement, the Director shall remove from the Register the co-decision-making agreement which the varied co-decision-making agreement replaces.

(8) A varied co-decision-making agreement shall not enter into force until it has been registered.”.

Amendment No. 40 proposes the deletion of section 24 and its substitution with amended text. Again, the amendments to the text are mainly technical in nature and add clarity to the provisions. An amendment to subsection 6 restricts the number of times a co-decision-making agreement can be amended in a 12-month period to one. This is deemed prudent from an administrative and operational prospective. The director has the discretion to allow further variation of an agreement within a 12-month period if deemed necessary.

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