Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his detailed opening statement, which was very helpful. I thank the Minister, the Minister of State and their staff for the detailed briefing we received yesterday, which was very useful. I only wish that the opposition spokespeople would get more such briefings on other topics. Perhaps the Minister and Minister of State could raise this with their Government and Cabinet colleagues. We found yesterday very helpful.

I welcome the Bill and I am happy to support it. I recognise the very tight timelines under which we are operating. I appreciate that if the Bill is not passed by the end of June, it could cause complications and challenges downstream as well. I fully recognise that.

I echo some of the comments that have already been made regarding an actual or perceived lack of engagement with advocacy groups. While the timelines are tight, it would be very helpful if the Minister or Minister of State could indicate that they are happy to engage further with advocacy groups, if that would possibly spirit this process along.

My second reason for supporting the Bill is because I recognise its special significance. This is an historic Bill. I am glad other Deputies have also said that. The Bill will abolish and overturn law that is more than 150 years old, which predates even the establishment of the State. It will completely outlaw the ward of court practice and confine it to the history books, which is exactly where it belongs. It is probably worth mentioning that when the ward of court system came in, it was probably well intentioned at the time based on standards at the time. Obviously, it has no place in modern Ireland and is no longer fit for purpose. It is good that we are finally getting rid of it.

The third reason for my support of the Bill is a point about the Bill that I like: not only is it repealing an unnecessary law, it is actually replacing it with something better, which is good. I absolutely agree that the functional assessment approach is much better than a black and white all-or-nothing approach. I agree with the two-step power of attorney. This is international best practice. It is a good process. If a person is likely to lose capacity he or she can be registered with the DSS in the first instance and can then be further referred if capacity is diminished or lost. This is a good way to go.

The Bill will help in the implementation of the UNCRPD. The Minister and the Minister of State will be aware that we are not there yet and that there is a lot more work to do. The Bill does indicate progress. As a famous person once said that it is better to be moving very slowly in the right direction than very quickly in the wrong one. At least we are moving in the right direction, but a lot more work is required from that perspective.

I agree with the principle that the legislation moves us away from the best-interests model, which is very patriarchal, and towards a model that respects the preferences and the will of the patient. That is a very solid principle and model on which to approach it. I have one question, however, and perhaps the Minister or Minister of State would kindly answer. I am not sure whether this was covered yesterday during the briefing. Could the Minister or Minister of State indicate how many wards of court there are in Ireland? This would just give us a sense of the scale of the issue. It may be a couple of hundred, but it may be more. Perhaps we could get an approximate figure on that so it would help in our understanding.

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