Acronyms and Abbreviations
| ADMC | Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 |
| AHD | Advance Healthcare Directive |
| CDM | Co-Decision-Maker |
| CDMA | Co-Decision-Making Agreement |
| Director | Director of the DSS |
| DMA | Decision-Making Assistant |
| DMAA | Decision-Making Assistance Agreement |
| DMO | Decision-Making Order |
| DMR | Decision-Making Representative |
| DMRO | Decision-Making Representation Order |
| DSS | The Decision Support Service |
| EPA | Enduring Power of Attorney |
| RP | Relevant Person |
| The Court | Circuit Court, unless otherwise stated |
| WOC | Ward of Court |
Commonly used terms
| Advance Healthcare Directive | If a person wishes to plan ahead, they can make an advance healthcare directive. This lets them set out their wishes regarding treatment decisions in case they are unable to make these decisions in the future. Importantly, it lets them write down any treatment they do not want. |
| Applicant | An applicant is the person who is making the decision support application, for the benefit of the Relevant Person. The applicant could, in certain instances, be the Relevant Person themselves. |
| Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act | The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act (often called the ‘2015 Act’) recognises that, as far as possible, all adults have the right to play an active role in decisions that affect them. The 2015 Act establishes a new legal framework for supported decision-making. These decisions can be about their personal welfare, including health and social care, and their property and affairs. |
| Attorney | A person who has the authority from an enduring power of attorney to make certain decisions on your behalf if you become unable to make them for yourself. A person does not have to be a lawyer to act as your attorney. |
| Capacity | Capacity is a person’s ability to make decisions for themselves. This will be based on the person’s ability to make a specific decision at a specific time. |
| Capacity Application | An application to the Circuit Court for a declaration under section 37 of the Act as to the capacity of a Relevant Person. |
| Capacity Assessment | A capacity assessment looks at a person’s ability to make a decision for themselves. The assessment used under the new law is called a ‘Functional Test’ for capacity. This means the assessment is about a specific decision that needs to be made at a specific time. Applying the functional test, a person can be said to lack capacity to make a decision if they are unable to do one of the following: • Understand information relevant to the decision; • Retain that information long enough to make a voluntary choice; • Use or weigh up that information as part of the process of making the decision; • Communicate their decision in whatever way they communicate (not only verbally). |
| Capacity Declaration | If the court agrees that a Relevant Person is not able to make certain decisions for themselves, it can state that the person lacks capacity in relation to certain decisions and make an order for suitable arrangements to be made. |
| Co-decision-maker | A co-decision-maker can make certain decisions jointly with the Relevant Person. The co-decision maker can advise the Relevant Person by gathering and explaining information, helping the Relevant Person in communicating his/her will and preferences and making the decision together. They can also support the Relevant Person to let other people know about the decision. |
| Co-decision-making agreement | A legally recognised arrangement that a person can make if they are unable to make certain decisions for themselves and require support. It lets them set out the types of decisions they help with and gives a person they know and trust the authority to make the decisions together with them. These agreements require more formalities than a decision-making assistance agreement. The agreement must be in writing and must be signed by the Relevant Person and the co-decisionmaker. The agreement needs to be witnessed by two other people. It must contain details of the decisions that the Relevant Person and the co-decision-maker will make together. The DSS will provide a form that can be used to write down an agreement. The DSS maintains a register of codecision-making agreements. The DSS monitors the agreements to make sure that they are working the way they should. The co-decision-maker needs to send a written report to the DSS every year. |
| Codes of Practice | The Decision Support Service published codes of practice describing how decision supporters and healthcare workers should act in certain situations to meet their responsibilities under the Act. |
| Cohabitant | One of 2 adults (whether of the same or the opposite sex) who live together as a couple in an intimate and committed relationship and who are not related to each other within the prohibited degrees of relationship or married to each other or civil partners of each other. |
| Court | The Circuit Court will have jurisdiction around most issues relating to the 2015 Act. The High Court will have jurisdiction about certain matters, for example, the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment or donation of an organ from a living donor. |
| Court friend | A court friend is a trained person who can support a Relevant Person if there is an application to the Court about their ability to make certain decisions. The Court can appoint a court friend to them if they do not have anyone else to help them with this. The DSS will set up and maintain a panel of people who can perform this role. |
| Decision-making assistant | The Relevant Person will ask someone they know and trust to act as their decision-making assistant. In doing so this person will assist the Relevant Person in making one or more than one decision in relation to their personal welfare or property and affairs, or both. A decision-making assistant will help the Relevant Person to gather information and explain it to them. They can help them to understand and weigh up their options. They can also help to let other people know what their decision is. Decision-making assistants do not have authority to make decisions on behalf of the Relevant Person, their role is simply to assist and aid the Relevant Person in making a decision. The agreement can be for a certain period of time, or it can be ongoing. A Relevant Person can have more than one decision-making assistant in their agreement. |
| Decision-making assistance agreement | A legally recognised arrangement that a person can make if they need support to make certain decisions for themselves. It gives someone they know and trust the legal authority to help them, by gathering information and helping them to understand it. |
| Decision-making order | The Court can make a decision-making order to make a decision on behalf of the Relevant Person where it is satisfied that the matter is urgent or that it is otherwise expedient for it to do so. |
| Decision-making representation order | If a Relevant Person is unable to make certain decisions, the court can give them a decision-making representative to make those decisions on their behalf. The court will usually appoint someone they know and trust in this role. However, if that is not possible, the court can select someone suitable from the Decision Support Service’s panel of trained experts. The decision-making representative can only make decisions that are written down in the order and must consider the Relevant Person’s wishes at all times during the decision-making process. If the decision-making representative is from the DSS panel of trained experts, they will be paid for their work. This payment may be taken from the Relevant Person’s estate. The Court can appoint more than one person to act as a decision-making representative. The Court decides whether the decision-making representatives must make decisions together or individually. The decisions included in a decision-making representation order and declaration as to capacity of the Relevant Person are kept under review by the Court. |
| Decision-making representative | If a person is unable to make certain decisions, the court will be able to appoint a decision-making representative to them. This will be written down in a decision-making representation order. The decision-making representative’s role is to make certain decisions on the person’s behalf. The court will list all of the decisions that the decision-making representative can make. This may include decisions about property and money matters, as well as decisions about personal welfare. If possible, the court will appoint someone the person knows and trusts in this role. If there is no one suitable who is able to do the role, the court will appoint a decision-making representative from a panel of experts maintained by the Decision Support Service. |
| Decision support arrangements | Decision support arrangements are legally recognised arrangements for people who need support to make certain decisions. |
| Decision Support Service | The Decision Support Service is a new service for all adults who have difficulties with their decision-making capacity. The Decision Support Service is a public body established within the Mental Health Commission by the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. Their job is to register the new decision support arrangements and supervise the individuals who are providing a range of supports to people with capacity difficulties. |
| Decision supporter | The Decision Support Service uses the term ‘decision-supporter’ to refer to a person who has been appointed as a decision-making assistant, co-decision-maker, decision-making representative, attorney or designated healthcare representative. The type of support they can provide depends on the decision support arrangement in place. Ideally, a decision supporter will be a family member or trusted friend. |
| Designated healthcare representative | If a person is planning ahead for healthcare decisions they may need to make in the future, they will be able to choose a designated healthcare representative. This is written down in an advanced healthcare directive. The designated healthcare representative’s role is to make decisions on the person’s behalf for the healthcare and treatment decisions written in the person’s advance healthcare directive. The person can give their designated healthcare representative the power to interpret their wishes, and to agree or refuse treatment on their behalf, based on what’s in the advance healthcare directive. A designated healthcare representative only acts on the person’s behalf if they lose the ability to make certain healthcare decisions for themselves. Under the new law, people will be able to appoint someone they know and trust as their designated healthcare representative to ensure their advance healthcare directive is followed. |
| Discharge Application | An originating application to the Circuit Court for a declaration under section 55 of the Act in respect of a Circuit Court ward. |
| Donor (in respect of Enduring Power of Attorney) | The person who may lack capacity in the future and gives a general power to an Attorney to act on their behalf. This may be in respect of all or some of the person’s property and affairs or to do specified things on the person’s behalf. |
| Enduring power of attorney | This arrangement gives authority to a person the Donor knows and trusts, to act on their behalf should they lose the capacity to make certain decisions in the future. This person is called an ‘attorney’ but does not need to be a lawyer. These decisions can be about personal welfare and property and money matters. A Donor can say whether an attorney will have authority to act on their behalf regarding all or part of their property and affairs. They can also give the attorney the authority to do specific things regarding their personal welfare. A person can have more than one attorney and can specify if they have to make decisions together, or separately. An enduring power of attorney only comes into force if a person loses capacity to make Certain decisions. Under the Amendment Bill, EPAs will be registered with the DSS at the execution of the EPA i.e., when the donor has capacity. The DSS is then notified when the donor lacks capacity. This is similar to the enduring power of attorney you can currently make under the Powers of Attorney Act 1996. It is different because under the new law, the Decision Support Service will supervise attorneys and make sure they are doing their job correctly. |
| Expert panels | A panel of trained experts that will be recruited and maintained by the Decision Support Service. DSS will have panels of experts who can act as: • Decision-making representatives; • General visitors; • Special visitors; • Court friends. |
| Guiding Principles | A set of key principles set out in the ADMC Act. These principles must be followed by people when interacting with a person who has or may have capacity challenges about a decision |
| Hague Convention | The Hague Convention on the International Protection of Adults is an international agreement that aims to protect vulnerable adults in international situations, for example, where an adult is a citizen of one country but lives in another. Under the ADMC Act, Ireland has appointed the Decision Support Service as its central authority. |
| Interim Order | Interim orders are temporary orders while the Court makes its decision. They are usually made when there is an urgent issue that needs action while the court process is going on. |
| Maker | Where any application to the Court under the Act concerns such agreement, power or directive or anything done or not done or purportedly done pursuant to such agreement, power or directive: (a) the decision-making assistant appointer in relation to a decision-making assistance agreement; (b) the co-decision-maker appointer in relation to a co-decision-making agreement; (c) the donor in relation to an enduring power of attorney or an enduring power under the Act of 1996; or (d) the directive-maker in relation to an advance healthcare directive. |
| Personal Welfare Decisions | Decisions about a person’s interests, health and wellbeing. These types of decisions can include: • Accommodation; • Employment; • Education and training; • Social activities; • Social services; • Healthcare; • Participation by the Relevant Person in healthcare research and social care research; • Other matters about a person’s wellbeing. |
| Property and Affairs Decisions | Decisions about property, business, and money matters. These types of decision can include: • Managing property, including purchasing good and services; • Selling, mortgaging, or disposing of property; • Buying property; • Business decisions; • Ending a partnership; • Carrying out a contract; • Managing debts and taxes; • Exercising the powers of a tenant for life; • Providing for the needs of other people; • Court proceedings; • Applying for social services. |
| Presumption of capacity | A person is always presumed to have capacity. In a situation where a person’s capacity is questioned, capacity will be assessed based on their ability to make a specific decision at a specific time. |
| Prohibition Order | The Director of the DSS can make an application for a temporary prohibition order against a decision-making supporter where there is an immediate risk of harm to the Relevant Person or the property of the Relevant Person. |
| Relevant Person | A Relevant Person is the person who the decision support application is being made for. The definition as per the Act is: (a) a person whose capacity is in question or may shortly be in question in respect of one or more than one matter; (b) a person who lacks capacity in respect of one or more than one matter; or (c) a person who falls within paragraphs (a) and (b) at the same time but in respect of different matters. |
| Ward of Court | Ward of Court is the term used for a person who is was deemed by the Courts unable to look after their affairs and who has somebody appointed to do this for them. |
| Will and Preference | If there is concern that someone lacks capacity to make a decision, it is essential that their past will and preferences are taken into consideration – therefore, what they would have wanted to happen before they lost capacity is of importance. The beliefs and values that that person held will have to influence any decision made. Will incorporates a person’s values, personal beliefs, ultimate goals. ‘Will’ carries a stronger sense of determination or planning than ‘preference’. Preference: Means ‘a greater liking for one alternative over another’. |
Last Updated: 27 April 2023