Results 5,401-5,420 of 11,744 for speaker:Roderic O'Gorman

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: There are wars in Syria, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Eritrea. Just as much as Ireland offers protection to women and children, we also offer protection to men because men are victims of torture and persecution as well. We will not make a determination on whether we protect someone due to his or her gender. We will make a decision-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: -----in terms of when people have gone through an international protection application process. A determination will be made at the end of that.

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Senators for their input. I will respond to Senators Flynn and Warfield in respect of the Bill being rushed and things like that. Senator Seery Kearney spoke about that previously. I do not want to start off in defensive mode but it is important to state that we wished to have the Bill passed in June this year. I had set out my intention to move it rapidly through both Houses...

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: This amendment seeks to replace section 3 of the 2015 Act, which sets out the functional capacity model, with a replacement text on legal capacity. I would argue that this amendment mixes two separate provisions. As the House will be aware, the 2015 Act provides for a presumption of capacity in section 8(2), which deals with the guiding principles. Section 8(7) already requires an...

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank Senator Black for her amendment. The Senator expressed many of my views on why this is necessary. She is correct that the amendment we brought forward does not create a new power. There is an inherent jurisdiction of the High Court in making decisions but we, in our engagements with the Department of Health, felt it was necessary to signpost to the High Court in order to protect...

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The amendment proposes to create a new subsection under section 8 of the 2015 Act. Section 8 provides the guiding principles which underpin the Act, specifically with regard to making an intervention in respect of a relevant person. The amendment seeks to have the guiding principles interpreted in line with the UN convention, in particular, Article 12 and General Comment 1 of the UNCRPD....

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: This amendment removes the phrase "Act of 2015" from the Bill. It is not a phrase used elsewhere in the Act and, as such, is being replaced by the term "Principal Act".

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: As the Senator said, this issue was raised by Deputy Sherlock during the debate on this matter in the Dáil and I agreed to look at the issue again. We made a change to section 36 of the principal Act and it now provides for anonymised court reporting by legal professionals. Senator Seery Kearney spoke about this issue in the context of child law reporting and suggested that if there...

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: This amendment clarifies the title of the new section being introduced by the Bill. The title will now reflect that this section of the Bill amending the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 relates to Part 6 of the 2015 Act only. Part 6 of the Act deals with wardship. This is a technical amendment for the purpose of improving the text of the final Act.

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The proposed amendment seeks to delete provisions in the Bill that remove treatment decisions from enduring powers of attorney, EPAs. While I note the purpose of the Senator's amendment, I believe the provisions her amendment seeks to delete are important in providing legal clarity. The importance of such legal clarity should not be underestimated. The removal of treatment decisions from...

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: Amendment No. 11 replaces an incorrect word in the amendment of section 73 of the Act. The word "subsection" is being replaced with "subject", which will clarify the meaning of the relevant paragraph. It is a technical amendment that will improve the final text of the Bill.

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: Amendment No. 12 modifies cross-referencing relating to EPA regulations. The modification will correct a cross-reference in section 79 of the 2015 Act, which is necessary because of the changes previously made to the Bill. It is a technical amendment that will improve the final text of the Bill.

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: Amendment No. 15 seeks to delete a provision relating to the ongoing care of pregnant directive-makers where the High Court is deliberating on the validity and applicability of an AHD. In general, section 89 concerns the role of the courts in clarifying, where necessary, the validity and applicability of an AHD. In the first instance, it is intended that the informal process set out in...

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: As Senator Mullen said, we discussed two issues on Committee Stage. One related to a situation where an AHD is silent, an accident has taken place and there is a question about how a determination has been made. Our meeting and subsequent engagements were useful. We discussed section 85(5), which deals with an informal engagement to ascertain the will and preference of a pregnant woman and...

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: Section 149 originally provided for a full review of the 2015 Act with the exception of Part 8, which falls under the responsibility of the Department of Health. Through Government amendments tabled in the Dáil by me, this review will now include Part 8, which has been agreed with the Department of Health. This was an important broadening of the capacity to review and reflected issues...

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: The provision makes it an inclusive and broad review process. Initially, it will review how the legislation itself is working, but we are aware of the need to be inclusive and to understand how the legislation is operating in the wider context.

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: This amendment extends the cap on Circuit Court judges to 40, an increase of three. I am aware that the commencement of the 2015 Act will impact the Circuit Court, particularly in terms of the appointment of decision-making representatives under Part 5. All decision-making representative applications will go to the Circuit Court once the Act is commenced. When combined with the changes...

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: Amendments No. 23 and 24 ensure that there is clarity regarding the appointment of care representatives under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009, particularly those appointed after the enactment and commencement of this Bill. In that regard, this group of amendments chiefly improves continuity and transitional provision. Following commencement of the amended 2015 Act, care...

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I will speak to each of the amendments in the grouping. While I understand the intent behind amendment No. 27, the current wording is problematic as it is not feasible or practical to specify in law that IHREC must extensively engage with all persons with a disability. This could lead to a situation in which IHREC undertook a detailed consultation process and, yet, becomes subject to a...

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report Stage (29 Nov 2022)

Roderic O'Gorman: I thank the Senators for their kind comments. It is an important day. We are today taking the second-last step towards consigning wardship to being a historical point rather than a lived reality. It is a Victorian institution but it remains a lived reality for thousands of people in our country today. That is no longer an appropriate mechanism to deal with the many sensitive, personal,...