Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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1141. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his Department received any correspondence from the Law Society in relation to the recent changes made to the EPA process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30570/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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1142. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if his Department is planning a review of the EPA process with stakeholders with a view to gauging how the recent changes have impacted those using the system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30571/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1141 and 1142 together.

I thank the Deputy for their questions regarding the Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) application process under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act, 2015. EPAs are an important 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 for me.

My Department has engaged with the Law Society both in person and via correspondence. On foot of recent correspondence, officials of my Department are currently liaising with the Law Society of Ireland to organise a meeting with the Society.

I am also aware that there has been bilateral engagement between the Law Society and the Decision Support Service (DSS) in respect of the EPA application process. Both my Department and the DSS remain committed to ensuring that there is a shared understanding of the application process, of the role of the legal profession, and, ultimately in ensuring that the EPA application process is accessible and fit for purpose.

The DSS keeps all of its timelines and processes under continuous review. As of May 31, 2025, the DSS has registered more than 2,700 EPAs under the new process mandated by the 2015 Act and a further 2,300 have been submitted and are now queued for review and registration. Encouragingly, the numbers of EPA applications have increased significantly in the last 11 months and continue to rise, demonstrating an increased awareness of the services offered by the DSS, and an improved efficiency in the application process itself.

On foot of engagement with a range of stakeholders, including feedback from the Law Society of Ireland, 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. A new accessibility policy introduced in July last year, which includes a dedicated EPA helpdesk to ensure that individuals who require additional assistance in completing an online EPA application are supported in doing so, together with helpful instructional videos and other guidance material provided on the DSS website, has seen the number of registered EPAs increase, and the timeframe for registration decrease.

My Department looks forward to continued engagement with stakeholders, including the Law Society of Ireland, to ensure that those who face diminished decision-making capacity are enabled to retain as much autonomy over their lives as possible, and have their wishes documented and respected.