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Modern Capacity Legislation Petition |
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Skip explanation to sign petition On March 30 2007, Ireland was among the first countries to sign the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. One of the central areas of the Convention is Article 12, Equal Recognition and Capacity on an equal basis with others. This relates to the right to make decisions. Adults have the right to make decisions about their lives - for example to accept or refuse medical treatment, to deal with their property and money and to have consenting sexual relationships. People with an intellectual disability have the same rights to self-determination and autonomy as everybody else. However, they may not have the capacity to make certain decisions, or to communicate their decisions. Since 1871 the only system for decision-making for adults under Irish Law is the Wardship procedure. Under the Lunacy Regulations (Ireland) Act 1871 a person who is unable to manage his or her own affairs can be made a Ward of Court. There has been growing awareness of the difficulties in applying the 1871 Act in a contemporary setting. The impact of being made a Ward of Court on a person's life is monumental: a person who is made a Ward of Court cannot have a bank account, cannot marry, cannot defend or initiate legal proceedings and cannot transfer residence (for example from a disability service), without the permission of the High Court. In addition to the Ward of Court system the other failing of current legislation is the lack of a definition of capacity. There is no formal system to assess the capacity of a person with an intellectual disability to make decisions. Inclusion Ireland believes there should be a statutory presumption of capacity. In September 2008, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern introduced the Scheme of a new Mental Capacity Bill. He said: “The Bill will modernise the law on capacity contained for the most part in legislation of 1871.” 17 months later a Bill has still not been brought to the Oireachtas. Inclusion Ireland is deeply concerned with the slow progress in this regard. At present people with an intellectual disability do not have a clear right to make decisions. The law on deciding who has decision making capacity is totally inadequate and the arrangements for supported and substitute decision making are non-existent in many cases and inadequate and inappropriate in many others. This means that the rights of people with an intellectual disability may be infringed and it creates major practical difficulties for people with intellectual disabilities themselves as well as for their parents, families, carers and service providers. We urge you to sign this petition. Please sign below to call on the Irish Government to introduce modern capacity legislation.
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Inclusion
Ireland, Unit C2, The Steelworks, Foley Street, Dublin 1, Ireland.
Tel: 01 8559891 Fax: 01 8559904 Email: info@inclusionireland.ie |