Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 June 2023
609. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he has any plans to establish a direct portal for legal firms or advocates for the creation of enduring powers of attorney on behalf of individuals. [31368/23]
View answerUnder the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act, as amended, the Decision Support Service is the body responsible for the operation of the majority of the Act, including in relation to the making of Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs).
The Decision Support Service (DSS) is responsible for the design and development of its own systems to deliver functions under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015.
The DSS has established an online customer portal to allow members of the public to create secure accounts and complete applications to create and register decision support arrangements, including enduring powers of attorney. The ICT system of which the portal is a part has been developed in line with the government’s ‘digital first’ approach, following expert advice and consideration of the experience in other jurisdictions. It has been developed subject to an approved, funded plan and extensive engagement with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. There are no plans to develop separate portals for the exclusive use of legal firms or other parties. Since commencement of the 2015 Act on 26 April, the Decision Support Service has managed over 2300 queries and the Registration team has reported over 685 fully verified online accounts, including 226 applications to create EPAs. This is a very encouraging level of engagement with the online portal which the Director of the Decision Support Service hopes will continue and improve.
The DSS is a digital first but not digital only service, and facilitates manual workarounds for ID verification, account creation and the submission of applications. Regarding legal practitioners, the DSS has stated that it is the prerogative of any donor to instruct a solicitor in relation to the making of an EPA. In their guidance, which is available on the DSS website, the DSS states that a donor should consider doing so - particularly in complex advance planning matters.
The DSS approached the Law Society to offer to assist with the development of guidance for legal practitioners in relation the new EPA systems and contributed a step -by-step guide to its processes, which was included in an update published by the Law Society last week. The same guidance is available on the DSS website, together with other resources, including ‘How to Guides’, specimen completed documents, explainer videos and a dedicated FAQ. The DSS remains available to all its stakeholders to provide information and guidance.
The DSS encourages all adults to think about advance planning - this is why the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 Act is described as ‘an Act for everyone’. 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.
