Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin realises that the way in which wardships of court operate needs to be reformed, but the manner in which the Bill is being brought forward, with particularly tight timeframes, goes against the spirit of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Under Article 4.3 of the convention, disabled people have a right to be consulted on policy and on the laws that affect them, yet the amending Bill was published just the day before yesterday for debate today and tomorrow on Second Stage, with amendments due by 8 June. That is hardly an acceptable way of ensuring the Bill will be analysed properly, with suitable amendments thought through and submitted. Even the committee had very tight timeframes for producing its pre-legislative scrutiny report. For legislation as important and far-reaching as this, the Department’s rushed approach is an affront to those who will be directly affected by the measures contained within. There are also issues with accessibility in terms of how relevant material has not been produced in easy-to-read or accessible formats. It is not a good start to realising the ambitions of this legislation and our obligations under the UN convention. Furthermore, the decision support service is expected to be operational on 20 June despite these delays. I just do not see how that date will be met.

Advocates do not want to delay the commencement of the Bill but important amendments are needed. Many stakeholders have highlighted how people involuntarily detained under the Mental Health Act 2001 will be excluded from the provisions of this legislation. No other group of individuals are specifically excluded from this legal right. This conflicts with international human rights standards, including the UN convention. That people with mental health disabilities will be excluded from the Bill must be dealt with and Sinn Féin intends to bring forward amendments to deal with this omission. It is also very concerning that the Bill will not extend any of the Act's advantages to people aged 16 and 17.

As a party, we are very supportive of reform of the exclusionary nature of wardships of court but a number of matters, some of which I have referred to, need amending. While very little time is being given to us to do this, we will submit amendments to ensure the Act will fulfil our obligations under the UN convention, and that it will be inclusive and human rights compliant and will live up to our commitment to equality. Article 12 of the UN convention provides that “[s]tates Parties shall recognize that persons with disabilities enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all aspects of life.” Providing little to no time to analyse and address the deficiencies in the Bill is not in the spirit of those obligations.

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