John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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617. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of recent deaths out of the total of 85 wards of court that occurred in nursing homes; the number of deaths in the reported 85 that died due to Covid-19; the number of the 85 that came under the remit of the general solicitor; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13997/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I am informed that sadly, in the period from 12 March 2020 to 29 June 2020, 111 wards of court died, 86 of whom were resident in nursing homes or community hospital settings. The General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court was Committee for 19 of those 86 wards.

The Wards of Court Office does not always receive the cause of death. However, the Office has been informed that Covid-19 played a role in the deaths of 17 of these wards of court.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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618. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of wards of court who come under the remit of the general solicitor; if there was a family or family member that could have acted as their committee in each case; the average length of time probate takes in such cases by reference to past cases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13998/20]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court is committee or guardian to 624 wards of court, including 10 minor wards of court.

The General Solicitor is appointed as committee or guardian when there is no family member available to act, willing or in a position to act. The General Solicitor may be appointed as committee where the family are unable to agree who will act as committee. The General Solicitor may be appointed by the Court if the Court believes it is appropriate to do so in the absence of an appropriate family member and in the best interest of the ward.

The General Solicitor’s Office would only deal with a Probate application in very rare circumstances. It is not possible to quantify the time a probate application would take as each individual estate is different and will have different requirements and complexity.