Gino Kenny questions delay in assisted decision-making rollout
Gino Kenny questioned the delayed implementation of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 and asked how that delay affects the proposed Mental Health Act. He sought clarification and noted an expectation that the capacity Act would be fully commenced next year and that sections of the updated Mental Health Act could begin to be commenced in 2023.
Implementation status
The speaker noted that the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act was passed through the Oireachtas in 2015 but still has not been fully implemented. He raised the issue as a follow-up to a point Senator Howey had made and asked for clarification from James on the knock-on effects of non-commencement.
Impact on the Mental Health Act
He said that many provisions of the 2015 Act do not apply to people receiving treatment under the Mental Health Act prior to 2018 because that exemption was written in while the Mental Health Act review was underway. He explained the intention that the two acts would later dovetail and align when the updated Mental Health Act is enacted.
Timelines and expectations
The speaker conveyed his understanding that the remainder of the capacity Act is due to be fully commenced next year, with an expected commencement around next June. He added that fully commencing the updated Mental Health Act will rely on a fully commenced capacity Act and expressed hope that sections of the Mental Health Act could begin to be brought into force in 2023, depending on the legislative process.
Committee procedure and next steps
He avoided repetition of earlier questions, asked James to respond on the specific implementation point, and closed by thanking James and the chair. The exchange focused on aligning definitions of capacity and decision-making supports between the two acts as the legislative timetable progresses.
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Thanks, Frances. Most of the questions have been asked, so I don't want to be repetitive. There is one question I know that Senator Howey mentioned about assisted decision making. Obviously, that was passed through the Oireachtas in 2015, so that was really six years ago, but it still hasn't been implemented. So what is the knock-on effect in regards to that not being implemented? And if it was, what effect would that have in relation to this piece of legislation? Again, this might have been answered, but just to clarify for my own kind of notes. I will ask James to come back on that if he can, please. Yeah, so my understanding at the moment is that the rest of the assisted decision making capacity Act is due to be fully commenced next year. So I think it's next June. I suppose if the 2015 Act had been fully commenced any time before now, it wouldn't have really had a direct impact on the Mental Health Act prior to 2018. because a lot of the provisions of the 2015 Act don't apply to people receiving treatment under the Mental Health Act. So I believe that was written into that Act at the time because the review of the Mental Health Act had already begun, so they wanted that process to continue. And that kind of down the line, the two acts would dovetail and that they would align when the updated Mental Health Act came in. So I suppose for us aligning, so we've aligned a lot of our understanding with, say, what capacity is, what a decision making support, so all the things that are contained in the 2015 Act, we've aligned those in the updated Mental Health Act, or that's what we hope to do. So fully commencing our Act will rely on a fully commenced capacity Act, but I would expect that that would happen next year, and I would hope that our own Act, you know, depending on how the legislative process goes, would be in a position to be, sections would begin to be commenced in 2023. So hopefully the timelines should add up, but that's certainly what we're working towards at the moment anyway. Thanks James, thanks Chair. Thanks.
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