The journey from wardship to supported decision-making: An examination of the process and the experiences of people leaving wardship.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) is an international treaty that Ireland ratified in 2018. The system of wardship is not aligned with the UNCRPD and therefore, the law that governs wardship which was enacted over 150 years ago had to change.
The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 and amending legislation commenced in April 2023. This triggered the process of dismantling the adult wardship system in Ireland. This new law required all adults that had been made a ward of court to exit wardship within three years. As part of this process, the court determines what, if any, decision-making supports the person requires when leaving the wardship system.
The National Disability Authority (NDA) conducted research which examined the experiences of people who are in the process of exiting or have exited the system of wardship and who are now living independently or availing of the new supported decision-making system. The research is framed by Article 12 of the UNCRPD which addresses the right to equal recognition before the law.
The research report sets out key learnings and recommendations to address the concerns and apprehensions raised by participants in the research.
Following the finalisation of this report, but prior to its publication, the Government announced that it would seek to enact the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2026. The Bill will amend Part 6 of the ADMCA. This will allow the High Court to extend – on a case-by-case basis – the current three-year statutory deadline for discharging all adults from wardship set out in the legislation to a maximum of 18 months.