Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Senator that it is important to highlight in the Bill the fact that applications can be made by relatives or persons who have a relationship of trust with the ward. I am looking at the feasibility of the Senator's proposal and seeking legal advice on the matter. Given that the Bill is driven by consultation to ensure we get it right and subject to the legal advice being what we expect it to be, I will be tabling an amendment on Report Stage broadly along the lines of that proposed by the Senator. I hope that will satisfy him.

In terms of wardship, it is important that we be very clear in the Bill.Quite recently, I had a visit from a very caring and very young family. They wanted to talk to me about an adult relative who was awaiting a court hearing about wardship. The adult in question was very worried about it and not necessarily want it. The family wanted to support him in his decision. I am very anxious to get this legislation through because so many people are waiting on it. What I found quite interesting was that the judge in the case, who was very enlightened because he knew that this legislation was coming, advised them to look for an adjournment until the legislation came in so that they would not have to come into wardship. In the circumstances, this was the wisdom of Solomon. Sometimes we do not realise that when we are developing legislation, so many people will be affected by it in such a fundamental way. Sometimes we think that, apart from what we publicise, nobody else takes any notice of or interest in what we do in here. In this case, they rang the ward of courts office and when they asked the woman at the other end about this legislation, she told them that if they had said that to her last year, she would have told them that she had been listening to it for seven years but that the legislation was actually on the way. We sometimes forget that. The ward of courts issue is a serious one for people and is not always necessary. There are other ways of managing our affairs other than by the court and that paternalistic approach. We are looking at the amendment and I would appreciate it if it was not pressed as I promise to come back on it.