Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

589. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide an update on the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013. [31319/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill was published in July 2013. As the Deputy will be aware, this is an extremely important and far-reaching Bill which constitutes a comprehensive reform of the law relating to decision-making by persons with capacity difficulties.

What has been proposed in this Bill represents international best practice. Nonetheless, international legislation in this area is rapidly evolving and new approaches are being developed all the time. This has necessitated extensive consultation on the Bill. The Bill’s publication in July 2013 was followed in September by a consultation symposium organised by my Department, by the Dáil Second Stage debate in December 2013, and by a second consultation process undertaken by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, in Spring 2014. All of these processes identified areas of the Bill which required amendment to ensure a better fit with the requirements of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the European Convention on Human Rights. Amending provisions are being drafted by the Department in tandem with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel. These will be introduced at Committee Stage which is currently awaited. In addition, provisions on Advance Healthcare Directives will be incorporated at Committee Stage. The aim is to enact the legislation this year.