Are you interested in learning about the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 and the Decision Support Service (DSS)?

Almost everyone in Irish society is on a learning curve when it comes to the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 and the Decision Support Service (DSS).

The 2015 Act is important reforming legislation and there are new concepts and structures to understand and prepare for.

The DSS has a duty to promote awareness and confidence in the new framework, to provide guidance and support change. Over the past two years, the DSS team have been actively engaging with a wide range of stakeholders. Each week, we present to interested organisations, informing them about the 2015 Act and the DSS and answering any questions they might have to help them get ready for commencement. Our stakeholder engagement is continually evolving as we better appreciate the level of knowledge and understanding of the Act across different sectors and adapt our communications, information, and guidance accordingly.

Better understanding of the needs and expectations of people and their situations will help us to deliver the most appropriate service. For example, engaging with focus groups of stakeholders is helping us to design and build a public-facing IT system that be as accessible and user friendly as possible.

If your organisation would like a presentation from the DSS, please contact us by emailing dss@mhcirl.ie. We hope that the presentation will help you and your colleagues to understand and plan for these imminent changes

In the meantime, we have developed a bank of FAQs that address many of the general questions we have received. Please don’t hesitate to visit this page and share with family, friends and colleagues.