The current "wards of court" system is unlikely to be replaced by the new guardianship system for at least another year, despite recommendations made by the Law Reform Commission last December.
The Law Reform Commission took issue with the "all-or-nothing" approach of the wards-of-court system which involved the loss of control over a range of issues when a person was made a ward of court. It proposed a new guardianship system which would involve a personal guardian managing a limited aspect of a person's affairs but not necessarily everything.
Between 2,000 and 3,000 people are wards of court because of incapacity, whether through age, disability or brain injury.
Outgoing Independent Senator Dr Mary Henry, who has highlighted this issue, said the required legislation could be in place now if the political will was there. She said there would be no opposition to the new legislation, yet it was highly unlikely that the changes would be introduced any time soon.
"As we have seen, new laws can be forward very quickly if someone wants them," she said.
In an effort to speed up the process, Dr Henry drew up a private member's bill which received a second reading but has gone no further.
She said she was regularly contacted by parents of people who were wards of court, asking if the changes would soon be introduced. They had encountered a range of problems with the wards- of-court system and wanted to see an end to it, she said.
"I have more than a handful of parents who contact me regularly about it and I feel so sad for them," she said.
Some parents reported problems in accessing money to buy day-to-day items for the ward of court. Others wanted their children to have greater control over their personal or financial issues.
Dr Henry said the language used was "Dickensian" in laws such as the Lunacy Regulation (Ireland) Act 1871 and the Marriage of Lunatics Act 1811.
The Law Reform Commission called for the repeal of the Marriage of Lunatics Act, which renders void a marriage by a person who has been made a ward of court.
It also recommended a new mental capacity law which would allow for clear rules on when a person has the legal competence to make decisions varying from grocery shopping to healthcare.
The commission also said that adults should be free to make what others regarded as "poor or eccentric" decisions, provided that they understood the nature of the decision.
When the Law Reform Commission made its recommendations, Minister for Health Mary Harney said she would like to see the proposals implemented as quickly as possible. Commission chairwoman Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness said it would be "a quick march from 19th to 21st century law" if the report's findings were implemented speedily.
A spokesman for the Department of Justice said the issue was being dealt with but there was no timeframe for the introduction of the changes at this stage.
