Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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754. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 589 of 11 June 2024, the steps she has taken to resolve the impasse between an organisation (details supplied) and the Decision Support Service whereby persons are unable to complete and enduring power of attorney (EPA) application following instruction by the organisation that solicitors are not to sign the EPA legal practitioner statement; the alternative available to such persons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7455/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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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.

My Department has engaged with both the Decision Support Service (DSS) and the Law Society of Ireland in relation to the application process for EPAs since the commencement in 2023 of the 2015 Act, and will continue to do so. I am also aware that there has been ongoing bilateral engagement between the DSS and the Law Society since the commencement of the Act, in particular in respect of the EPA process.

As of 9 February 2025, the DSS has completed the registration of 1,673 EPAs and a further 1,839 have been submitted for review. An additional approx. 16,000 EPA applications have been commenced and are being progressed by applicants.

Of the 3,512 applications submitted and/or registered, 27% were submitted by a solicitor on behalf of a client (i.e. where a solicitor was engaged by an applicant for the end-to-end process), and the remaining 73% were submitted independently by an applicant with an accompanying legal practitioner's statement. This demonstrates that solicitors are indeed engaging with the Act and either completing 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).

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.

To address concerns raised by the Law Society of Ireland, the DSS introduced an accessibility policy which includes a dedicated helpdesk service to ensure that individuals who require additional assistance in completing an online EPA application are supported in doing so. It also enables the DSS to ensure that the cohort of individuals who are unable, for whatever reason, to utilize the online portal, are facilitated in making an EPA application manually. This enhanced helpdesk service, alongside the helpful instructional videos and other guidance material provided on the DSS website, will assist all users of the system, including practitioners, to access any additional supports required.

I encourage all adults to think about advance planning. Anyone requiring assistance in relation to making or assisting a donor to make an EPA is welcome to contact the DSS by phone or email and its team will be pleased to help.