Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy. On 26 April 2023, the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, along with most of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act 2022, were commenced, replacing the wards of court system. That Act places individuals at the centre of decisions that affect them and provides for the necessary supports to enable persons with capacity difficulties to retain control over their own affairs and the decisions that affect them. One of the principles of the Act is that a person is presumed to have capacity to make a decision unless it is shown otherwise. A third party, such as a parent or other family member, does not have an automatic entitlement to be involved. Where a person’s capacity to make a particular decision is in question, or may shortly be in question, their capacity is assessed specifically regarding that decision. This is known as a functional capacity assessment, whereby capacity is assessed on an issue- and time-specific basis. A person may lack capacity to make one decision but have capacity to make another decision. All practicable steps must be taken to help the relevant person whose capacity is being called into question to make their own decisions, and the relevant person’s capacity to make a specific decision must only be assessed if they are still unable to make the decision after such supports have been provided. Service providers must work to enable a person to make their decision through the use of supports appropriate to their capacity to make that decision. Where persons lack decision-making capacity and require decision-making supports to meet their ongoing needs, they can seek to put in place a decision support arrangement under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. The HSE has prepared a suite of person-centred plan resources for people with a disability, their families and service providers across adult disability services. I am not sure if that is what the Deputy specifically referred to, but that is the recent Act.

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