Mental capacity Bill to be issued shortly

LEGISLATION UPDATING the law on mental capacity will be published shortly, Minister of State for Health Kathleen Lynch has said.

“The Bill will reform the law in respect of adults who are vulnerable, in the sense that they may lack some or all capacity to make important decisions for themselves,’’ she said.

Ms Lynch said it would also modernise the law on capacity, which mostly dated back to the 19th century. It would, she added, replace the outdated adult ward-of-court system with a statutory framework governing decision-making on behalf of people lacking capacity.

Speaking during a debate on the national disability strategy, Ms Lynch said it would address employment and training opportunities.

A scheme would be introduced in the near future by the Department of Social Protection to allow people with disabilities to avail of employment opportunities while continuing to receive an income-support payment.

“The scheme recognises that the current structure of the welfare system, which categorises people as being either fit or unfit for work, does not reflect the reality for many existing welfare customers,’’ she added.

It would be open, said Ms Lynch, to people receiving an invalidity pension, or who had been in receipt of illness benefit for a minimum of six months, with participation voluntary.

Fianna Fáil health spokesman Billy Kelleher said a recent report from the National Disability Authority showed a hardening of attitudes towards people with disabilities, which was a major concern.

It was similar, he added, to the immediate deterioration in attitudes towards foreign people when there was a downturn in the broader economy.

More people were saying they would prefer children with autism or Asperger’s syndrome were not educated in mainstream schools.

“This is an undercurrent that we need to deal with in a vocal way,’’ Mr Kelleher added.

Jonathan O’Brien (SF) said the current economic environment could not be used as an excuse for taking the foot off the pedal in implementing the strategy.

A senior United Nations official had said at a conference in Galway last December this was not the time for the Government to proceed at half-speed in meeting its commitments in that area, he added.

Richard Boyd Barrett (People Before Profit) said that as a TD he met people in desperate straits who were continuously frustrated and often driven to despair by the lack of resources and funding and the bureaucracy they had to wade through to get the support needed.

Fianna Fáil TD John Browne, who said he had a daughter with spina bifida, emphasised the importance of jobs.

“When I ask a company for €1,000 or €5,000 to pay for a function for people with disabilities, I get it more often than not, but if one asks the company to provide such a person with a job, the result is different,’’ he added.