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

I will address Seanad amendments Nos. 24 and 167 to 175, inclusive. Seanad amendment No. 24 is a technical amendment. It moves the provisions repealing the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act 1871 to section 7. It is considered good drafting practice for the legislation which is to be repealed to be included in the same section. No change of substance is involved. The Bill proposes to repeal, as previously agreed, the Marriage of Lunatics Act 1811. The Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act 1871 will be repealed with the exception of the transitional arrangements of Part 6 to allow all adult wards to be discharged from wardship and-or migrated to the new options.

Seanad amendments Nos. 167 to 175, inclusive, proposed a series of amendments to make more precise the process by which wards will be discharged from wardship. No change of policy is envisaged by these amendments.

Seanad amendments Nos. 167, 170 and 172 provide that the wardship court shall not review the capacity of a ward but rather make a declaration under section 46(1). These amendments are necessary because the existing provisions do not correctly describe what is envisaged. Where a person has been admitted to wardship without reference to his or her capacity, such as in the case of many minor wards, they should be able to be discharged from wardship without reference to their capacity. Instead, what the wardship court will do is to review the ward’s case and, where only necessary, make a determination as to the ward's capacity. That will be done only where it deems it to be necessary.

We want to make this as free-flowing as possible.

Seanad amendment No. 169 was in response to a request from Sinn Féin Senators that an application for a review of a ward’s case could be made by a relative or friend of the ward who has had such personal contact with the ward that a relationship of trust exists between them. Seanad amendment No. 171 ensures that there is continuity in terms of the provisions in place for wards throughout the process of moving from wardship to discharge or to the new options. This amendment does not change in any way the deadlines already set out in the provisions. Wardship will be phased out for adults within three years of the commencement of Part 6. A minor ward will be entitled to a court hearing on his or her case no later than six months after his or her 18th birthday.

Seanad amendment No. 174 inserted a new section 47 that will allow the wardship court to continue its jurisdiction pending the discharge of a ward or the ward’s migration to the new options foreseen under the Bill. This amendment will allow payments, for instance, to continue to be made pending the court hearing on a ward’s case. It is important that people are not stuck without funds. Saving provisions were needed to ensure orders of the wardship court made before this Part is commenced remain valid even if the 1871 Act is repealed. This is to provide certainty in terms of payments to third parties, etc.

Seanad amendment No. 175 deletes section 49. The provisions of this Bill are essentially for adults. It is important that boundaries should not be blurred between the current arrangements and the arrangements foreseen under the Bill. To make this clear, the director of the decision support service’s role will not have a role in minor wards. Matters relating to minor wards will continue to be handled by the office of the wards of court.

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