I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to address the House on Second Stage of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2026. This is urgent legislation, intended to ensure legal certainty for wards of court who are moving to a decision-making process, as set out in the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act of 2015. I appreciate the understanding shown by members of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters, which recognised the need to enact this legislation into law before the end of the month and granted a waiver of pre-legislative scrutiny for the Bill. Nonetheless, it is vital that all legislation is properly considered by the Houses of the Oireachtas and I look forward to having the opportunity today and tomorrow to listen to the views and concerns of Members of this House. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act is important legislation which ultimately transforms how people are supported when they may not have capacity. The Act prioritises the specific needs and wishes of the individual and it represents an important milestone in bringing Ireland into closer compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 brought about an end to wardship in the Irish State for adults, by repealing the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act 1871. It replaced the wards of court system with a new rights-based model for appointing tiered decision support arrangements. Since the commencement of the Act in 2023, wards of court have been moving out of the wardship regime into the new decision support framework. Those exiting wardships can be discharged with three different arrangements: with no decision-making support, with a co-decision making agreement, or with the appointment of a decision-making representative. To date, 391 wards have been fully discharged, with 38 individuals requiring no decision-making support, 40 requiring co-decision making agreements, and 313 being discharged with decision-making representatives. The Decision Support Service established by the Act oversees the co-decision making agreements and the decision-making representatives. It performs a vital role which ensures proper protections for the individual to whom those arrangements apply. Moving to the purpose of this particular Bill, I want to clearly explain why the amendments are needed and what they propose to do. First, the amendments outlined in this Bill relate solely to the statutory deadline that applies to the process for people exiting wardship. Currently, that deadline is 26 April 2026, and while the ambition was always to make sure people exited wardship on time, it has become clear that this deadline will not be met for a variety of different reasons, including a slow pace of discharge proceedings, among other reasons. That is why we now need to make provisions, through this new Bill, for an extension to the statutory deadline. It is of the utmost importance that the transition from wardship is done in a fair way, and that individuals are given as much legal certainty and information as possible when exiting the wardship regime. My officials have been working closely with the Decision Support Service and the office of the wards of court within the Courts Service to support wards of court and the committees for the wards and to ensure that they are provided with accurate, reliable information on exiting the wardship regime. This year, all wards of court have been granted legal aid certificates and have legal representation, which is really important. It would be remiss of me to discuss the topic of wardship without acknowledging that for many wards of court or family members of a ward of court, there are legitimate concerns or apprehensions about the process, or about life after discharge, and as Minister of State with responsibility for disability, I am making every effort to hear those concerns. Just yesterday, my Department held a consultation meeting in the Camden Court Hotel, where members of the public had an opportunity to hear from the bodies involved in discharge, to raise their concerns and to engage with other people who might be in similar situations. I attended this and would like to note separately that the 2015 Act is due for formal review by April 2028. Preparations for that are expected to begin later this year. We are going to do them ahead of time. Hearing from those who have a lived experience of this legislation will be crucial to any review and will include former wards of court, those who have made enduring powers of attorney, or those who have had to arrange for decision-making support for a loved one under the legislation. A number of steps are involved in the discharge process. Under section 55(1) of the Act, the High Court or "wardship court", as it is referred to under the Act, is required to make a capacity declaration in respect of every adult ward of court. The capacity declaration is a key step in the discharge from wardship process and it requires the completion of a capacity assessment and the formal submission of a report to the court. As it currently stands, all capacity declarations must be made by the statutory deadline of 26 April 2026, and that very much remains the anchor date to which the courts are working and continue to towards. However, the reality is that we are not going to meet the deadline date for all wards, with approximately 1,050 wardship cases currently outstanding. The 2015 Act does not provide for a situation where a capacity declaration will not have been made in respect of adult wards within the timeframe allowed and that is why urgent legislative amendments are required. They are required to avoid legal uncertainty for the large number of wards who will not receive a capacity declaration before the deadline. Without such amendments, the legal uncertainty that would arise for these wards could create complications with important matters, such as their care and treatment, provision of services and placement in facilities. The Bill provides a pathway to avoid this scenario by providing power to the High Court to grant on a case-by-case basis an extension to the deadline. The period of this extension must be necessary and proportionate, and granting the extension must at all times be In the interests of justice. In exceptional circumstances, the extension can be extended, once again, where it is in the interests of justice. However, no extension or extensions can exceed an 18-month period or go beyond 25 October 2027, whichever occurs earlier. This means that despite an extension being granted, there will be certainty for wards that the capacity declaration will be made by 25 October 2027 at the latest. Once these amendments are enacted, the Courts Service will have to arrange for a judge to: consider the case for each individual ward; decide on the appropriate length of time for an extension; and grant the extension, if warranted. It is going to take some time for each ward to be reviewed by the Courts Service but I know there has been increased judge allocation recently, which is absolutely going to help this situation. For those wards of court who are under 18, the situation is slightly different as they will only exit wardship when they reach 18 and the deadline for a capacity declaration for these wards is six months after they reach the age of 18. The Bill proposes that a similar extension to the time period for their capacity declaration can be granted in the same circumstances as those for the adult wards. This will ensure that their discharge process can also be carried out in a timely manner but recognises that it may need to be extended in the interests of justice. The Bill also ensures that wards of court are kept up to date and informed of the progress of their discharge. If the court decides to grant an extension, especially if the ward was not involved in that decision, he or she must be informed of it as soon as possible. I know Deputies will appreciate the importance of ensuring that wards are not left in uncertainty and that this Bill is both necessary and urgent. Let me now turn to the detail of the Bill, which is divided into two sections. The key provisions include the following. The Bill amends the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 to enable the wardship court to extend, in certain circumstances, the time period for making a capacity declaration under section 55(1) of the 2015 Act. Section 1 of the Bill amends section 54 of the 2015 Act by the insertion of two new subsections to give the wardship court the discretion to extend the time periods set out in section 54(2) or section 54(3) for making a capacity declaration under section 55(1) in individual wardship cases in certain circumstances. The first new subsection 54(2A) provides for an extension or the time period set out in section 54(2) for making a capacity declaration under section 55(1) in relation to an adult ward in certain circumstances. This subsection will allow for an extension for such period as the wardship court considers necessary and proportionate in the circumstances where the court is satisfied that a good reason has been shown that the statutory deadline of 26 April 2026 will not be met and where it is also in the interests of justice to grant the extension. Subsection 54(2A) will also allow for a further extension in exceptional circumstances provided that a further extension is also in the interests of justice. The wardship court may discharge or vary any order for an extension of time that it makes. Where the ward has not participated in the making of an order, he or she will be notified of the making of any such order as soon as practicable after its making. The outer limit for any extension of time will be 18 months or until 25 October 2027, whichever is the earlier. The second new subsection 54(3A) provides for an extension to the timeline set out in section 54(3) for making a capacity declaration, in certain circumstances, in relation to wards who reach the age of 18 after 26 October 2025. This subsection will allow for an extension for such period as the wardship court considers necessary and proportionate in the circumstances where the court is satisfied that good reason has been shown that the statutory deadline for making a capacity declaration will not be met in an individual case, and where it is also in the interests of justice to grant the extension. A further extension will be permitted in exceptional circumstances provided that this is also in the interests of justice. The wardship court may discharge or vary any order for an extension of time that it makes. Where the ward has not participated in the making of an order, as I said, he or she will be notified of the making of any such order as soon as practicable after its making. The outer limit for any extension of time in respect of wards who reach the age of 18 after 26 October 2025 will be 18 months. Section 2 of this Bill is a standard provision, which sets out the Short Title and citation of the Bill. To conclude, this Bill is a key measure for the fair and orderly transition of individual wards from the wards of court system to a new rights-based supported decision-making framework. It provides for legal certainty for those wards who have not had a capacity declaration completed by the statutory deadline for the end of the wardship regime. It does this by maintaining the statutory deadline of 26 April 2026, helping to avoid any disruption to the court processes already under way, while providing the courts with the discretion to extend that deadline in certain circumstances insofar as it is necessary, proportionate and in the interests of justice to do so. I thank Deputies for listening. I thank members of the joint Oireachtas committee for their co-operation and interest and for attending briefings on this with my officials over the past number of weeks. I thank my officials who have drafted this and who are with me today. I look forward to the Deputies' questions.

Sentiment score: 0.37