The process for putting in place enduring power of attorney – a legal arrangement giving people peace of mind if they get to a stage where they cannot make decisions for themselves – has “collapsed”, the Law Society says.
The professional body for Ireland’s solicitors said the “poor design” of the online system “is making it unusable for a significant number of people” as it called on Anne Rabbitte, Minister of State at the departments of Health and Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to intervene.
An enduring power of attorney (EPAs) is a legal document in which a person sets down whom they want to make decisions on their behalf in relation to personal care, their property, and their finances if they are no longer able to do so themselves because of illness of mental impairment, such as dementia.
New legislation designed to give people a greater say in their affairs and protect against elder abuse put a new office – the Decision Support Service – in charge of EPAs and other areas such as advance healthcare directives and the support of former wards of court.
“We were promised a better, more people-focused service, but that simply has not happened. It’s not good enough for people in vulnerable situations to be left with this level of uncertainty,” Law Society director general Mark Garrett said.
“The current system has been completely over-engineered and creates unnecessary obstacles for those with decreasing capacity and those in need of an emergency Enduring Power of Attorney. People are rightfully frustrated.
He said that €37.3 million had been invested in the new service since 2019 but the number of EPAs being registered and activated was “alarmingly low”.
“The numbers speak for themselves,” Mr Garrett said. “The volume of enduring powers of attorney activated was steadily increasing year on year over the past decade, doubling from 620 in 2014 to 1,245 in 2022. In stark contrast, the system has completely collapsed under the new Decision Support Service (DSS) to just 10 enduring powers of attorney activated since it came into operation in April 2023, while a total of only 342 applications have been completed [the step before activation] between April 2023 and the beginning of July 2024.”
The Law Society accused the Decision Support Service of taking “an overtly narrow, complex, and restrictive digital approach” in how it manages the process.
Mr Garrett said his organisation had endeavoured to engage with the Decision Support Service. “However, there has been little meaningful progress and that has led to this crisis point,” he said. “The system is failing and needs ministerial intervention to ensure the needs of the users are centre stage.”
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