I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. I do not believe anyone in this House claims, and I know I certainly do not, complete ownership of compassion. I completely recognise the issues as well as the need for those raised by the Deputies to be addressed. The Deputies have said that this issue is provided for by the vast majority of employers. However, their concern, which is a legitimate one, is to ensure this is not something that is offered, but is something that is there as a right. I fully understand the Deputies'…

I am pleased to address the House on Second Stage of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill. The primary purpose of this Bill is to ensure that Ireland has fully transposed Articles 6 and 9 of the EU Work-life Balance Directive, which are the final elements not already compatible with Irish law. The Bill also fulfils an important and long-standing commitment to extend the entitlement to breastfeeding breaks under the Maternity Protection Acts. With this extension, women returning to work after havi…

I thank Senators for their detailed consideration of and response to the draft Bill. I will do my best to address as many of the issues raised as possible. A wide range of issues were raised, many of which we can look at in more detail on Committee Stage. I will begin by addressing the points made by Senator Keogan regarding the heads of the Bill that were published in the summer. In the heads of the Bill, we set out a range of objectives for this legislation, one of which was to ensure that where a trans person be…

I am glad to be here to speak to the last Stage of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022. It is a key Bill that allows us finally to abolish the Victorian concept of wardship from Irish law and thus enhance our compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD. It will finally allow for the operation of the Decision Support Service, which creates a tiered level of supports for those with capacity limitations, and it does other things, including …

We had an extensive debate and the Deputy's colleague, Deputy Ward, raised a number of issues, particularly on the applicability of advanced healthcare directives, AHDs. We have since been able, following on from the amendments made in the Seanad, to broaden out the applicability of AHDs. They do not cover everybody, and if he was here I am sure Deputy Ward would make that point. In the Seanad I read out a communication from the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, on the revision of the mental health legislation, whi…

These amendments all relate to complaints provisions within the Act and allow for the director to undertake either a review or an investigation of a complaint prior to forming a view as to whether the complaint is well founded. This will reduce the requirement for the Decision Support Service, DSS, to undertake an investigation automatically on each and every occasion a complaint is made, thereby limiting the burden on the service user and the DSS. Amendments to complaints under Part 8 will ensure the director of t…

This amendment removes the phrase "Act of 2015" from the Act. This is not a phrase that is used elsewhere in the Act and, as such, is being replaced by "Principal Act".

Amendment No. 8 provides for single capacity assessment under section 29 of the Act of 2015 in line with other capacity assessments required under Part 4. This will ensure only one statement of capacity is required by either a registered medical professional or a class of healthcare professionals to be prescribed by regulation. This will reduce the number of capacity assessments required under Part 4, making it more straightforward for the relevant person to put in place a code decision-making agreement.

These amendments allow for the making of regulations adding to the list of persons or bodies eligible to make an application directly to the Circuit Court under Part 5. This will be done by removing the requirement for parties to first make an ex parte application where appropriate. This will permit the bringing of Part 5 applications in a more streamlined and less burdensome way.

This amendment will allow for the undertaking of court reporting and research under Part 5 and gives powers to make regulations providing for certain classes of persons to make reports on proceedings taking place under Part 5. The necessary access to proceedings will be provided and the identity of persons will be kept confidential in such reporting. This point was first raised by Deputy Sherlock on Committee Stage in the House and I am happy to have been able to introduce this amendment on Committee Stage in the S…

These amendments extend the capping of decision-making representative fees. Previous amendments provided for the capping of panel member decision-making representative fees and this amendment will ensure limits are imposed on all decision-making representative fees. Regulations will be prescribed to set limits on fees to be charged, which will ensure a proper balance between fair and reasonable rates of remuneration and the interests of the relevant person's estate.

It is important to say that in the vast majority of cases under this legislation, decision-making representatives will not be remunerated for their work because the Act foresees many of them having a close and personal relationship as a condition of their appointment. However, where circumstances require or where it is the express wish of the relevant person, fees are payable and will be met from the assets of the relevant person. In those circumstances, it is vital to set those limits and safeguard those assets.

Under the new system, we are moving away from the ward of court-----

-----and we will have the new Decision Support Service. This envisages situations where people might come in initially with a limitation on their capacity. It might be somebody with a lack of capacity because of a condition that is deteriorating or somebody who has had a critical accident. In that situation, the director of the Decision Support Service is in a position to make a determination about what level of capacity support is needed for the individual. If the person has lost all capacity, which is the highest…

I will speak to amendments Nos. 25 to 27, which address wardship transitional arrangements. Where a wardship application is being processed to completion, as part of these transitional arrangements there is nothing to prevent a person who is the subject of a wardship application from appointing a decision supporter under the 2015 Act. Where an appropriate decision support is appointed, the wardship application must be withdrawn.

In the Dáil we inserted a section. We are ending wardship and introducing a new system. There are certain people who have begun the process of a wardship, who are probably some of the most vulnerable people to have begun that process. We want to ensure they can work their way through the wardship process, get the protections, and also be in a position to exit into the new system. We do not want a cliff edge between the old system and the new system for those who have already begun their journey through wardship. Be…

Amendment No. 28 clarifies the title of a new section being introduced by the Bill. The title will now reflect that the section of the Bill amending the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 relates to Part 6 of the 2015 Act only. Part 6 of the Act is the Part of the Act which deals with wardship. This is a technical amendment for the purposes of improving the text of the final Act.

Amendment No. 29 corrects a cross-referencing matter in the Bill relating to enduring power of attorney, EPA. The amendment will remove a cross-reference to section 62 of the 2015 Act, which is being repealed by the Bill. This is a technical amendment for the purposes of improving the text of the final Act.

Right now, there is a legal challenge to the existing system-----

-----as the Deputy is aware. It is in the back of our minds that the ward of court system is both in breach of the UNCRPD and possibly unconstitutional as well. As the Deputy probably knows, the original Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act was brought in in 2015. It was passed by both Houses and enacted, but the processes were never set up. The Decision Support Service never came into operation. The purpose behind this legislation is to correct and improve a significant number of technical difficulties with the…