Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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1947. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will review correspondence (details supplied) and documentation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20948/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for their question regarding the online application process for Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act, 2015. As the documents supplied note, EPAs are a sensible and advisable advance planning tool, enabling people to prepare for a time when they may have difficulty in making certain decisions themselves. Ensuring accessibility and efficiency within the application process is key, and the needs of service users are a priority.

The Decision Support Service (DSS) has statutory responsibility for the operation of many of the provisions of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, including registering EPAs.

Since the commencement of the new system of decision support arrangements in April 2023, over 2,200 EPAs have been registered by the DSS, ensuring that persons have the support structures of their choosing in the event of diminished decision-making capacity in the future. While these numbers indicate robust engagement with the new system, I am conscious of the accessibility needs of persons seeking to access supports, particularly persons with disabilities and older persons.

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 commencement of the Act. 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.

On foot of stakeholder feedback, including feedback from the Law Society, the DSS has implemented a number of changes to improve the EPA application process, to reduce application processing times, and to address the accessibility needs of the users of the service.

To address concerns raised by the Law Society of Ireland and other service users, 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 helpful instructional videos and other guidance material provided on the DSS website, has already seen an increased volume of EPAs being registered, with over 1,800 (of a total 2,200) being registered from July 2024 to the end of March 2025. Additionally, 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.

As of the end of February 2025, 73% of all enduring powers of attorney were submitted independently by an applicant with an accompanying legal practitioner's statement, with the other 27% being submitted by a solicitor on behalf of their client. This demonstrates that the Act is being robustly engaged with by solicitors.

It is also important to note that the majority of changes made to the EPA process, including notice requirements, supporting documentation and the new two-stage process, were introduced to enhance accuracy, reliability, and safeguarding in the EPA system, and to avoid donors having to incur High Court fees at the point of registration.

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 at 01 211 9750 or by email at queries@decisionsupportservice.ie and its team will be pleased to help in whatever manner possible.