Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I rushed to the Chamber to speak. I was not planning to do so because Deputy Gino Kenny is our spokesperson in this area. However, I received an email this week that connects to the issues at stake in this Bill. I heard the Justice for Wards group referred to in previous contributions. I recently met representatives of the group outside Leinster House. I had a meeting with a Minister of the previous Government, though I cannot remember who, on the issue. The issue of wards of court is complicated. That meeting with whichever Minister took place quite a number of years ago and was prompted by two people in my area who were in the ward system. It was a young woman who was in the ward system and her guardian. Their particular concern, which was echoed during the protest outside Leinster House and in the email I received, related to the lack of proper oversight of the ward's funds. Commitments had been made over a number of years that the Comptroller and Auditor General would oversee how those funds were being managed but that never happened. Those commitments were made at committee meetings. Various taoisigh said this was going to be done but it never happened.

My first engagement with the issue was in the aftermath of the financial crash when significant losses were made by some of these funds. The point made by the Justice for Wards group and the friends of mine who first drew my attention to the issue was that they were completely in the dark in that regard. The wards had no real say in any of this. Decisions were being taken above their heads by the registrar of the Office of Wards of Court. Those decisions were taken over the heads of the people concerned without any proper consultation. I hear they are also concerned that they have not been properly consulted about this legislation. I do not know the extent to which this Bill impacts on the issues I have raised. I understand that we are doing away with the ward system. What happens with those funds and the properties that are supposed to be managed? How will all that work?

I will say, with my limited understanding of the matter, that those people who emailed me and my friends were very unhappy about their experiences. They felt they were ignored or plámásed. They were told things were going to happen but nothing ever happened. They were always on the outside. In fact, my friends exited the ward system because they were so frustrated and angry at the whole situation.

An email I received concluded by stating it is unconscionable that the State would abandon these vulnerable people for whom it has responsibility and that elderly parents would have to take to the streets to be heard. My correspondent referred to people in this situation who are struggling on disability allowance and who have insufficient means for their needs, which leaves them dependent on elderly parents for financial support, in danger of losing their homes and going into residential care. These are vulnerable people in very difficult circumstances who feel abandoned. They concluded that email by asking for engagement with the Minister. I appeal to the Minister to respond to the representatives of the Justice for Wards group. They know how to present their case far better than I do. I am clear from the conversations, the emails I have received and from my previous discussions with my friends in Dún Laoghaire who have experienced all this that there are big issues to be addressed. Insofar as that may impact on this legislation, I am also aware that the Justice for Wards group feels it should be better consulted about this legislation, more generally.

I reiterate the point that has already been made about concerns relating to mental health reform. People who have been incarcerated under the Mental Health Act are excluded from this legislation. The Bill appears to be doing the right thing in terms of trying to assist people to make their own decisions, which is important.

I like the idea of the DSS. It seems like a good idea. Indeed, some people came to my clinic in the past few weeks who were having extraordinary difficulties because their loved one and family member had fairly advanced Alzheimer's disease. They did not have an enduring power of attorney set up and have had to go through a lot of rigmarole as a result. I found it hard, as did the people in my office, to get answers as to what one has to do and what hoops one has to jump through in order to deal with that situation. We were phoning all sorts of people and the family had been at it for months. In fact, following this debate, I had better check in and see where they are at but it was a pretty complicated, convoluted and difficult process. I hope this legislation will help people in such situations.

The fact that quite a lot of the advocacy groups representing those with disabilities are concerned that this is rushed and that they have not been properly consulted is very worrying. We are going to get things wrong if we do not listen to the people affected, especially in the area of disabilities. We cannot really know all of the difficulties, pitfalls, problems and inadequacies unless we really listen to the people who have to live this. If they are expressing the view that they have not been properly consulted on this legislation and that it is being rushed, then the Government needs to listen to that. It is better to get it right than rush it through. We cannot have a situation where, as is being suggested, a particular cohort of people may be completely excluded from the supports that this Bill is supposed to be providing and be denied their rights under the UNCRPD. I hope that is not what the Government intends to do here, and those concerns need to be addressed.

That is all I have to say. I hope the Minister and Ministers of State are listening to those affected. I am really just acting as a conduit for the experience and concerns expressed by others. The Government has heard those concerns expressed by quite a few Deputies today and I sincerely hope the Minister and Ministers of State are listening.

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