Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2026
515. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update in the changes being made to the Wards of Court and the Assisted Decision-Making Capacity Act in the case of a person (details supplied; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13485/26]
View answerThe Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, which commenced in 2023, marked a landmark reform of Ireland’s capacity laws, bringing the state into much closer alignment with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It abolished the outdated wards of court framework by repealing the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act 1871 and replacing it with a rights-based model of tiered decision support arrangements. It represents an important shift away from a ‘best interests’ approach to a rights-based approach, privileging a person’s will, preferences and autonomy. The 2015 Act also established the Decision Support Service which has statutory responsibility for processing, reviewing, registering and overseeing decision support arrangements.
The 2015 Act provides that all adult wards of court have their capacity reviewed within three years from the date of commencement i.e. by 26th April 2026. This capacity review will enable wards of court to be discharged from wardship and into an appropriate decision support arrangement, where required. Although there has been significant progress in achieving this, not all wards of court have had their capacity reviewed. Government is committed to ensuring that all adult wards of court are enabled to transition out of the wardship regime in a fair and orderly manner. Amendments to the legislation are therefore required to remove any uncertainty for those still in wardship arrangements. In that regard Government has approved the drafting of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2026 which will allow the courts to extend the deadline where there is good reason to grant such an extension and where it is in the interests of justice to do so.
This amendment will give the Court discretion to extend the deadline for the making of a declaration of capacity by a maximum of 18 months. This means that all adult wards of court will have a capacity declaration no later than 25th October 2027.
The Bill will also give the High Court the discretion to extend the time period for making a capacity declaration for wards who will reach the age of 18 after the 26th of October 2025. The total limit for any such extension(s) is 18 months.
The Department will continue to monitor the transfer of wards from wardship and into the new progressive system of decision support arrangements.
