Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the High Court has jurisdiction in wards of court matters and management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service, which is independent in exercising its functions under the Courts Service Act 1998.

However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that the process for discharging a person from wardship is straightforward. An application for discharge from wardship is based on medical evidence. The Courts Service has advised that the current procedure for a person to be released from wardship is as follows:

- If a person wishes to leave wardship the application is usually made on his/her behalf by his/her committee. However, if the person applies directly to the Wards of Court Office that office will correspond directly with that person. A letter is sufficient to commence the process.

- A report from a medical practitioner saying that the ward is capable of managing his/her property and person must be lodged. The Wards of Court Office will then ask a court medical visitor to attend the ward and to provide a report for the benefit of the court. If that report also confirms that the ward has capacity, the matter is listed before the President of the High Court at the next available wards of court motion list, which is usually on Mondays during the legal term.

- If the President of the High Court is satisfied with the medical evidence, an order is made discharging the person from wardship and remitting him/her control of his/her assets.

The Courts Service has further advised that the process can be completed in a matter of weeks, depending on the time taken to procure the medical reports. However, if there is an urgency to the application it will be prioritised by the Wards of Court Office.

As the Deputy may be aware, the legislation governing persons who are wards of court dates back to 1871 and it has been recognised that reforms were needed to update the law in this area. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 provides a modern statutory framework to support decision-making by adults with capacity difficulties. The proposed new system will replace the adult wards of court system by a less intrusive system by offering a continuum of options to support people in maximising their decision-making capability.

Part 6 of the 2015 Act provides for the phased transition from adult wardship to the new support framework. It provides for the review by the wardship court of the capacity of all current adult wards within three years of the commencement of that Part of the Act. Following a review of his or her capacity, the ward will be discharged from wardship and depending on the outcome of the review the wardship court may:

- Declare that the ward does not lack capacity and immediately discharge the ward from wardship and order that the property of the former ward be returned to him/her.

- Declare that the ward lacks capacity unless a suitable person is made available as co-decision maker to make one or more decisions. Once a co-decision making agreement is registered the court shall immediately discharge the ward from wardship and order that the property of the former ward be returned to him/her. If there is no suitable person to act as co-decision maker or the co-decision making agreement has not been properly registered within a period set down by the court, then the court shall make orders as appropriate under Part 5 to appoint a decision making representative and order that the property of the former ward be returned to him/her once a decision making representative has been appointed.

- Declare that the ward lacks capacity even if a suitable person is made available as co-decision maker to make one or more decisions. The court shall make orders as appropriate under Part 5 to appoint a decision making representative and order that the property of the former ward be returned to him/her once a decision making representative has been appointed.

The 2015 Act provides for the setting up of the Decision Support Service within the Mental Health Commission. New administrative processes and support measures, including the setting up of the Decision Support Service must be put in place before the substantive provisions of the 2015 Act can be commenced. A high-level Steering Group comprised of senior officials from the Department of Justice and Equality, the Department of Health, the Mental Health Commission and the Courts Service, together with the Director of the Decision Support Service, is overseeing the establishment and commissioning of the Decision Support Service and this work is ongoing.

The key preparations are being put in place under the oversight of the Steering Group to allow for commencement orders for the substantive provisions of the 2015 Act to be made when the Decision Support Service is ready to roll out the new decision-making support options. Ms Áine Flynn was appointed Director of the Decision Support Service on 2 October 2017. The Director is working in a very determined way to get the necessary staff resources, processes, IT system, expert panels, codes of practice and regulations in place in order that the Decision Support Service can be up and running as quickly as possible. There are many complex strands to this work, including involvement of multiple organisations. Every effort is underway to ensure that the Decision Support Service has all necessary capacity to open for business as soon as possible. The prevailing view is that the Decision Support Service will be operational by early 2020. As time goes on, every effort will be made to achieve tightening of the timeframes where possible and the situation will continue to be monitored closely by the Steering Group.