Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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427. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when sections 95 and 99 of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 will be commenced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14082/19]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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On 12 February 2019, the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection received Government approval to publish the Civil Registration Bill 2019. The Civil Registration Bill 2019 makes technical amendments to sections in Part 9 of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 that provide for registration, and re-registration, of births of donor-conceived children. This legislation is being progressed through the Oireachtas as a matter of priority. Committee Stage was taken in Dáil Éireann on 28 February 2019 and Report/Final Stage is scheduled for 27 March 2019. It is the only non-Brexit Bill to be introduced by the Government in the current legislative session.

The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, who has policy responsibility in this area, has stated her intention that Part 9 will be commenced immediately following enactment of the Bill. I will work with my colleague, the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, to ensure that commencement is brought about as soon as possible following enactment of the Bill.

The operation of these sections in Part 9 of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 is dependent on commencement of Parts 2 and 3 of the 2015 Act, which includes provisions for determination of parentage on which registrations, and re-registrations, will be based. This is the responsibility of the Minister for Health, who is working to ensure that commencement of these provisions is brought about as soon as possible.

These are complex issues that require the involvement of more than just one Department. Officials from my Department, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, the Department of Health and the General Register Office are working together to ensure that the appropriate legislative, regulatory, and operational mechanisms are in place to allow for the earliest possible commencement of all of the relevant legislation that will allow for birth registrations of donor-conceived children.

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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428. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, excluding Part 8, will be fully implemented and all sections enacted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12911/19]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 provides a modern statutory framework to support decision-making by adults with capacity difficulties. The Act was signed into law on 30 December 2015 but has not yet been fully commenced. New administrative processes and support measures, including the setting up of the Decision Support Service within the Mental Health Commission (a body under the Department of Health), must be put in place before the substantive provisions of the Act can be commenced.

A number of provisions of the 2015 Act were commenced in October 2016 in order to progress the setting up of the Decision Support Service. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (Commencement of Certain Provisions) Order 2016 (S.I. No. 515 of 2016), brought Part 1 (Preliminary and General) and Part 9 (Director of the Decision Support Service) of the Act, other than sections 3, 4 and 7 in Part 1 and sections 96 and 102 and Chapter 3 in Part 9, into operation on 17 October 2016. These provisions were brought into operation in order to enable the recruitment of the Director of the Decision Support Service.

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 further commencement orders for the provisions of the 2015 Act to be made when the Decision Support Service is ready to roll out the new decision-making support options.

The Decision Support Service is not yet operational but every effort is underway to ensure that the Decision Support Service has all necessary capacity to open for business as soon as possible. While the Decision Support Service has been working towards being operational and ready for the commencement of the main provisions of the Act in 2020, the situation is being kept under review as the preparatory work on implementation moves forward. The 2019 Revised Estimates Volume provides for an allocation of €3.5 million in the Justice and Equality Vote for the establishment of the Decision Support Service.

The commencement of Part 8 of the Act, which provides a legislative framework for advance healthcare directives, is a matter for the Minister for Health.