Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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243. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she is satisfied that the intent of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act 2022 is working as intended given that a tiny number of solicitors (details supplied) across the State will only provide the legal practitioner statement as part of the Decision Support Service enduring power of attorney application; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5056/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy's question relates to the legal practitioner statement that is statutorily required under section 60(1)(b) of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, as amended by the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act 2022. This statement is needed as part of the application process for the registration of an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) with the Decision Support Service (DSS). This may be a statement by a practising solicitor or barrister and is broadly similar to the statement that was required under the prior legislation, the Powers of Attorney Act 1996.

I am aware of anecdotal accounts of some solicitors who have declined to provide practitioner statements where that solicitor has not also been retained to draw up the EPA itself - in other words where a solicitor has not been involved start to finish in the process. It is important to note that it is statutorily permissible for solicitor's to do so and their statement comes in the context of additional and robust safeguards under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act, as amended, and a fundamentally different legal framework than the old Powers of Attorney Act 1996.

The Decision Support Service has engaged extensively with the legal profession in respect of the application process for EPAs and has engaged with practitioners and worked to ensure that there is a shared understanding of the statutory requirements of the 2015 Act. This will ensure that adults are enabled to plan for their future and have their wishes respected should they lose capacity at a later date. The legal profession can, and does, play an important role in promoting the uptake of EPAs and the pursuit of advance planning.

I thank the Deputy for raising this question and providing additional supporting details. I can assure the Deputy that the data on uptake of the new system of EPAs strongly indicates that solicitors are engaging with the system in significant numbers.

As of February 9th 2025, the Decision Support Service (DSS) has completed the registration of 1,673 EPAs and a further 1,839 have been submitted for review.

Of these 3,512 total applications, 27% were submitted by a solicitor on behalf of a client (i.e. where a solicitor was involved start to finish), and 73% were submitted independently by an applicant with an accompanying practitioner's statement. This demonstrates that solicitors are indeed engaging with the Act and either competing applications on behalf of a client (27% of cases) or are completing the legal practitioner statement in significant numbers where people are independently progressing applications (73% of cases).

Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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244. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if she intends to engage with the Law Society of Ireland on their practise decision of 15 February 2024 which appears to advise against solicitors only providing the legal practitioner statement with the Decision Support Service enduring power of attorney process and that the ideal is to participate from start to finish which appears contrary to the intent of the updated EPA process whereby individuals should be largely able to complete the process themselves. [5057/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy's question relates to the legal practitioner statement that is statutorily required under section 60(1)(b) of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. This is needed as part of the application process for the registration of an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA), made under the 2015 Act, with the Decision Support Service (DSS).

This may be a statement by a practising solicitor or barrister and is broadly similar to the statement that was required under the prior legislation, the Powers of Attorney Act 1996.

On 15 February 2024, the Law Society published updated guidance to its members on how to complete a legal practitioner’s statement, and this is welcome. It is, by design, not a requirement under the 2015 Act for applicants to instruct a solicitor in the end-to-end process of making an EPA.

It is important to recognise that under the previous EPA process in the Powers of Attorney Act 1996, a solicitor's engagement was the primary safeguarding mechanism in the making of an EPA. Under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, there is a much stronger suite of safeguarding measures in place. The legal practitioner's statement is no longer intended to act as the chief safeguarding measure in the making of an EPA, and there is no legal block for a solicitor in making one under the 2015 Act. This position in the 2015 Act is much closer to practice in other common law jurisdictions. For example, in jurisdictions in the UK there is no requirement to engage a solicitor in the making of an EPA at all, owing to the range of other safeguarding measures and protections in law, and the desire to drive down the cost for people seeking to engage in advance planning.

The 2015 Act has the safeguarding of adults with capacity difficulties at its core. The legal practitioner statement is just one such safeguard that has been built into the EPA application process. Another key safeguard is the requirement for a healthcare professional to complete a statement of capacity, satisfying themselves that the donor has the capacity to understand the implications of creating the power. Further protections include statutory notice periods for the making of an EPA, complaint handling functions assigned to the DSS, and the oversight and reporting functions of the DSS. In this regard the practitioner statement comes in a very different context under the 2015 Act and the DSS has engaged extensively with the legal community to listen to the concerns of practitioners and to build a shared understanding of the statutory requirements and context of the 2015 Act.

As of February 9th 2025, the Decision Support Service (DSS) has completed the registration of 1,673 EPAs and a further 1,839 have been submitted for review.

Of this total of 3,512 applications , 27% are submitted by a solicitor fully on behalf of a client, and 73% are submitted independently by an applicant with an accompanying practitioner's statement. This demonstrates that solicitors are indeed engaging with the Act and completing the legal practitioner statement in significant numbers where people are independently progressing applications (i.e. in 73% of cases).

Extensive resources to support anyone wishing to make an EPA are available on the DSS website. The DSS can also be contacted directly at 01 211 9750 or at .