Tag: Assisted Decision Making

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An Environmental Scan of the Web in Anticipation of the Capacity Act

Social Structures

Author: Hannah Casey, ALL Blog Editor and PhD Candidate at the Department of Psychology, Maynooth University

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Hannah Casey

At long last, the highly anticipated Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 has been fully commenced in Irish law today, April 26th. This Act, which replaces the outdated Lunacy Act of 1871, aims to align with Article 12 of the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) by enshrining in statute the right for people with disabilities to make their own decisions, and removing formal guardianship arrangements. As part of this new structure, the Decision Support Service (DSS) will finally be able to open its doors and provide much needed services, supports, and resources to people who need it. This service will allow people with disabilities to access necessary supports to make their own decisions, with as much help as they themselves deem necessary. Such decision-making is referred to as supported or assisted decision-making– a formal method of support that has fast been gaining traction across the world.

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Supported Decision Making and Next of Kin: The DSS Perspective and new perspectives for innovative participatory research

Social Lives

Author: Hannah Casey, Assisting Living & Learning( ALL) Institute Blog editor and PhD Candidate, Decision Support Service

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Hannah Casey

Supported Decision Making is a method that may be employed by persons who require help to make decisions in their day-to-day lives. These decisions may range from, where to go on holiday, to, how to manage financial concerns. Supported Decision Making is gaining traction and importance across the globe, and particularly in an Irish context in anticipation of the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015, set to be commenced in full by mid-2022. This has the added effect of ensuring Ireland may fully honour Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which states that persons with disabilities have the right to make their own decisions, and enjoy the same legal capacity that people without disabilities have in their lives. The Decision Support Service (DSS) has been established to support persons to exercise their right to make decisions, with the key understanding that a person’s capacity to make decisions should be assessed by reference to the decision in question.

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