Research on the Transition from Wardship

Background

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.

About the research

Our 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.

Our research comprised four strands. Firstly secondary analysis of anonymised data provided by the Office of Wards of Court. Following this we conducted interviews with persons in or recently discharged from wardship and with their committees. We also interviewed key stakeholders involved in the transition from wardship. The final strand consisted of observations of court discharge hearings. The interviews and court observations were conducted over a twenty-two-month period.

The research found the transition from wardship has been slower than anticipated. Of the 2,173 people in wardship in April 2023, there were still 1,602 adults in wardship (almost 74%) at the end of November 2025. Two significant barriers to engagement with the discharge process emerged from the study. Firstly, management of the former ward’s funds following discharge appeared to be a significant concern for participants. Secondly, there was a reluctance to embark on a new, unfamiliar system. Some expressed discontent that the same supports would not be available following discharge for both people in wardship and their committees.

There also appeared to be an information vacuum around the process of ending wardship. This was despite substantial information provision by several public bodies. It would appear that some individuals that had been made a ward of court and their committees overlooked or chose not to engage with the information provided.

Participants who had been discharged described how they were in a position to make their own decisions in their day to day lives and live more independently. For some, the responsibility of having to make decisions was met with fear and anxiety. While some people leaving wardship are deemed by the court to have capacity to make their own decisions, many of these same people have not had experience of doing so for many years.

Of those who had been discharges from wardship at the end of November 2025, the majority had been appointed a decision-making representative (78%). Decision-making representatives are responsible for making decisions on an individual’s behalf, based on their will and preferences. Over one in seven (13%) of those who exited wardship were discharged with no support arrangements as the court determined that the individual had decision-making capacity. Only 9% of those who left wardship were discharged with the support of a co-decision-maker who jointly makes decisions with the former ward of court.

As part of the study, NDA researchers also observed over 60 court discharge hearings. These observations highlighted significant efforts by the judiciary to make the court process more informal and accessible to individuals that had been made wards of court. The court also considered and gave great weight to the will and preferences of the person exiting wardship.

The 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.