Current Status of the Decision Support Service
The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 was signed by the President on 30 December 2015. The Act reforms Ireland’s capacity legislation which has been in place since the 19th century. It establishes a modern statutory framework to support decision-making by adults who have difficulty in making decisions without help. The Mental Health Commission, among many others, has warmly welcomed the Act as a necessary reform of Ireland’s legal framework for vulnerable adults where their capacity is in question or may become in question in the future.
The Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015 provides for the establishment of the Decision Support Service within the Mental Health Commission to support decision-making by and for adults with capacity difficulties and to regulate individuals who are providing support to people with capacity difficulties.
The Assisted Decision-Making Capacity Act has not been fully commenced and the Decision Support Service is not yet operational.
The Act significantly extends the statutory remit of the Mental Health Commission to include wide-ranging regulatory and information functions for the Director of the Decision Support Service. The Commission is committed to working with the Department of Health and the Department of Justice and Equality, and other relevant stakeholders to put in place the necessary infrastructure to make the Decision Support Service operational in a timely manner. To date the Commission has been in discussions with the relevant Government Departments to secure the necessary human and financial resources that will be necessary to progress the detailed and complex planning and operational elements that are required for the implementation of this legislation. The Mental Health Commission is participating in an Inter-Departmental Steering Group comprising officials of the Department of Health and the Department of Justice and Equality in order to advance the resourcing and establishment of the Decision Support Service.
At present, a limited number of provisions of the Act have been commenced, including provisions to allow for the recruitment of the Director of the Decision Support Service. The recruitment process took place earlier this year and on 2nd October, Áine Flynn commenced in post as Director.
To view the provisions of the Act that have been commenced please click here.
Following detailed scoping and when the operational processes required for the DSS are in place, the Commission will liaise with the relevant Government Departments in relation to the further provisions of the Act that will need to be commenced to make the Decision Support Service operational. This is a complex process, requiring significant resources. It is foreseen that the Decision Support Service will not be fully operational until 2019.
In its Business Plan 2017 the Mental Health Commission identified a number of priority areas to prepare the backdrop for the operational roll-out of the Decision Support Service. The Government has announced the allocation of €3 million in the 2018 Budget to the Department of Justice Decision Support Service to fund the Decision Support Service.