Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

-----as the Deputy is aware. It is in the back of our minds that the ward of court system is both in breach of the UNCRPD and possibly unconstitutional as well. As the Deputy probably knows, the original Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act was brought in in 2015. It was passed by both Houses and enacted, but the processes were never set up. The Decision Support Service never came into operation. The purpose behind this legislation is to correct and improve a significant number of technical difficulties with the original legislation. We have had significant debate on the Bill in both Houses. I believe, and the analysis has shown, that this is a strong system. I cannot say that there will not be legal challenges. There could well be, but I believe the system we have set up is one that places the needs of those who have a limitation to their capacity at the centre of the system. It is one that builds.

As the Deputy is aware, there are three different levels of support, depending on whether a person has a minor limitation to his or her capacity, all the way up to those most severe cases that we have spoken about. It is an appropriate approach. We have been putting additional financial resources into the DSS over the last two budgets to make it ready for the very significant amount of work it will have. One of the amendments we will speak about shortly adds three additional judges to the Circuit Court in recognition of the role they will have in respect of Part 5 and in making these orders under the DSS. Additional High Court judges will probably also be needed to oversee the transitional arrangements out of wardship. A lot of work has gone in on the legal side and significant work has gone in on the resourcing side to get this new system up and running. There is also provision for reviews. The DSS has to make annual reports. If issues arise, we will address them as they come up.

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