Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 May 2024
256. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to comment on the decision support service; the number of applications that have been started; the number of applications that have been completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21111/24]
View answerThe Decision Support Service ("DSS") is responsible for the operation of certain provisions legislated for under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 ("the 2015 Act"). This includes the processing of applications in respect of different decision support arrangements under the 2015 Act, in particular applications relating to Enduring Powers of Attorney ("EPAs") and Co-Decision-Making Agreements ("CDMAs").
Commencement of the 2015 Act, along with amending legislation, took place on 26 April 2023, representing a landmark overhaul of our capacity legislation and a move towards a rights based, tiered, and person centred model of supports. The 2015 Act also has the effect of abolishing wardship. Current wards of court will exit wardship following a review of their circumstances by the wardship court, and may transition to new decision support arrangements under the 2015 Act.
Since the Act came into force a total of 1386 decision support arrangement applications have been lodged with the DSS, as per the following table. The monthly breakdown of these supports is as follows:
|
Month |
Total |
EPA |
CDMA |
DMAA |
DMRO |
|
April 2023 (inclusive from 26/04/2023 – 30/04/2023) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
May 2023 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
|
June 2023 |
12 |
10 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
July 2023 |
32 |
23 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
|
August 2023 |
69 |
37 |
3 |
5 |
24 |
|
September 2023 |
100 |
62 |
10 |
4 |
24 |
|
October 2023 |
125 |
100 |
7 |
4 |
14 |
|
November 2023 |
138 |
116 |
7 |
3 |
12 |
|
December 2023 |
128 |
96 |
4 |
3 |
25 |
|
January 2024 |
151 |
119 |
5 |
6 |
21 |
|
February 2024 |
221 |
163 |
10 |
7 |
41 |
|
March 2024 |
271 |
183 |
5 |
5 |
78 |
|
April 2024 (inclusive to 17/04/2024) |
134 |
86 |
4 |
2 |
42 |
|
Total |
1386 |
996 |
63 |
44 |
283 |
LEGEND:
• EPA = enduring power of attorney
• CDMA= co-decision-making agreement
• DMAA = decision-making assistance agreement
• DMRO = decision-making representation order made by the court.
A total of 421 applications have been approved by the DSS, as per the following table.
|
Month |
Total |
EPA |
CDMA |
DMAA |
DMRO |
|
April 2023 (inclusive from 26/04/2023 – 30/04/2023) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
May 2023 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
June 2023 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
July 2023 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
August 2023 |
19 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
13 |
|
September 2023 |
25 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
21 |
|
October 2023 |
18 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
14 |
|
November 2023 |
40 |
20 |
3 |
1 |
16 |
|
December 2023 |
33 |
11 |
2 |
3 |
17 |
|
January 2024 |
40 |
26 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
|
February 2024 |
88 |
34 |
2 |
9 |
43 |
|
March 2024 |
107 |
44 |
3 |
2 |
58 |
|
April 2024 (inclusive to 17/04/2024) |
46 |
25 |
1 |
0 |
20 |
|
Total |
421 |
167 |
16 |
20 |
218 |
Following submission for registration, a statutory 5-week notice period for objections applies to both EPAs and CDMAs. Before registering a CDMA or EPA, the DSS is required to undertake a review to include examination of any objections received and to ensure compliance with the statutory requirements and the eligibility and suitability of the co-decision-maker or attorney(s) among other matters. These are important safeguarding measures.
The DSS is responsible for registering but does not ‘approve’ Decision-Making Representative Orders (DMROs) which are valid when issued by the court. DMROs are notified to the DSS by the court for the DSS to enter on its register. The breakdown of DMRO figures is based on the date a case for the Order was created by the DSS for the purposes of registration. The Courts Service holds more detailed data on the number of DMROs applications that have been made to the courts.
