Category: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015

Although the general public are under the impression that the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act 1871 has been repealed, it has not in effect been repealed, because the below statutory instrument signed by Frances Fitzgerald on 18 October 2016 exempts subsection 7 (the section to repeal the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act 1871) within the Assisted decision making capacity act 2015.

The net result of all this political wrangling is that until the Minister for Justice makes and signs a new statutory instrument which implements section 7 of the Assisted Decision Making Capacity Act 2015, the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act 1871 still remains in force, This is evinced by the Wards of Court list in the legal diary which confirms hundreds of persons are being subjected non-stop, to applications and hearings under sections, 11,12,68, and 103 of the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act 1871, probably even as I write this.

In fact what I am saying is confirmed by the appointment of Aine O’Flynn as chairwoman of the Decision Support Service, which is set up to inquire into the legality of thousand of Nursing home residents who have been made a Ward of Court probably against their will. This has resulted in all of their assets being confiscated by the State for the benefit of paying Solicitors and Barristers fees ad infinitum, to the detriment of the residents personal care needs.