The Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality has published a 740 page report on the Mental Capacity Bill. This bill is intended to address the question of the legal capacity of individuals whose ability to make decisions is affected by intellectual disability or mental illness. The report advocated a human rights based approach to the legislation and said that the outdated wards of court system for people with restricted legal capacity should be replaced with a system of assisted decision making. Emphasis was made on the importance of assisted rather than substitute decision making, and the current ‘best interests’ approach was described as outdated and paternalistic.
Informal flexible tribunals in the individual’s own setting rather than courtrooms were regarded to be the best forum for deciding upon their legal capacity. The report further drew attention to the importance of the type of language used, recommending that the name of the bill be changed to the "Legal Capacity Bill".
The current applicable legislation on legal capacity is the Lunacy Act of 1871. The Chairman of the Committee, David Stanton, said that this 19th century legislation is inadequate and insufficient to meet Ireland's obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Click here to read the Committee’s full report.
Click here to read an article from Journal.ie on the report.
Click here to read an article from the Irish Times on the report.