I came in just after Deputy Ó Murchú started.

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Is this amendments Nos. 1 and 4?

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I have lost track a little bit here. I will pass over.

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I echo the point made by Deputy Ó Murchú. Research undertaken by the National Disability Authority has indicated that people have not been supported sufficiently to understand what the end of the wardship system means for them and those supporting them. We must ensure that all those who come within the scope of the original Act, namely, disabled people, older people and people with severe mental health difficulties have a legal right to accessible information, meaningful engagement and practical supports, including independent advocacy. That is a crucial point in terms of upholding human rights. The National Disability Authority research notes that despite information efforts by public bodies, many wards and committees experience what was described as an "information vacuum" and confusion about roles and responsibilities within the system. That tells us that issuing information is not the same as ensuring understanding to a reasonable degree. In the transition to rights-based in practice, accessible formats, practical navigation supports and independent advocacy must be consistently available. Where extensions are granted, the additional time should be used actively to support informed participation. There has been a failure to appropriately resource the public bodies most involved in the implementation of the Act, such as the Decision Support Service, Legal Aid Board and National Advocacy Service in order to achieve that goal. I am calling on the Minister of State to commit to providing further resources to the public bodies involved in implementing the legislation to ensure that those impacted have their human rights fully upheld. This includes additional resources to the bodies I mentioned. It is important that we have that concrete commitment as we proceed with this legislation.

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