Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I concur with the comments made about the guillotine. It is shocking in our democracy and should not be allowed. I want to raise the progress of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022 progress through this House. The Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, stated that he now believes it will be impossible to progress the Bill through all Stages in the Seanad before the recess. It is hard to express how I feel about this development. I welcome his commitment to examine the points raised by Deputies Ward, Cairns and others during the Bill’s passage through the Dáil. As they have pointed out, the Bill is deeply flawed in several crucial ways. Its exclusion of people formerly detained under the Mental Health Act is deeply discriminatory, as is the exclusion of 16- and 17-year-olds who are allowed to make decisions about their physical health but not their mental health. I hope that these issues are addressed by Government amendments or that Opposition amendments are accepted. However, I am crucially aware of the harm that this delay will cause. The legislation is supposed to replace the deeply flawed wardship system. While it is delayed people are being taken into wardship and are being denied this opportunity of supported decision-making that will better vindicate their rights and autonomy. If the Bill is to be delayed until after the recess, then we need a commitment that it will be passed before the budget.

I want to make a broader point about the legislative process. This Government has taken on responsibility for delivering legislation on legacy issues and other important, emotionally charged topics. That is a difficult task and much of it has been led by the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, who undoubtedly has a difficult job, but whether it is the records Bill, the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022 or the Institutional Burials Bill 2022, there seems to be a pattern of inconsistent and inadequate engagement with stakeholders. These are issues of tremendous significance, and many courageous and dedicated individuals and organisations have spent significant time and effort campaigning on these issues. Our legislative process is supposed to ensure they feel included and understood, yet they continuously experience disappointment and dissatisfaction with the process. This failure needs to be addressed.

As legislators, we should be led by the people who are affected by the decisions we make. There are many reasons this is not the case such as the complexity of legislation, the opacity of the drafting process and the uneven rhythm of the legislative process. Mostly it feels like very little is happening on a given issue and then the process unfolds so quickly that it is difficult to make one’s voice heard. I do not have the answer to this problem but it is an issue that degrades our democracy and dilutes the wealth of knowledge, experience and insight that campaigners and civil society share with us. Will the Minister address the House to outline his new timeline for the passage and enactment of this much-needed legislation?