John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to change current wardship legislation and if he will outline his views on the need for such change. [45035/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce a Bill that is in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Bill is at an advanced stage of drafting. Work is ongoing to properly align the provisions of the Bill with the principles contained in the UN Convention on supporting people with impaired capacity in making decisions and exercising their basic rights. I envisage that the title of the Bill will reflect this approach.

The Bill proposes replacement of the Wards of Court system with a modern statutory framework to support persons with impaired decision-making ability. The Wards of Court system is regarded as unsuited to modern conditions and incapable of coping with projected demographic growth and increased need for the management of the affairs of persons who lack capacity. The terminology and concepts used in the existing legislation of 1871 are regarded as inappropriate to the modern understanding of mental illness and legal capacity. The enactment of new legislation is one of the core elements of the remaining work to be completed to enable ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and work on the Bill in ongoing.