Conference Chairperson & Opening Remarks

Mary Kirwan, Barrister & Lecturer at RCSI

Capacity Evidence Under the Microscope: Why Courts Are Pushing Back

Speaker: Peadar Browne, Managing Solicitor, Dublin Assisted Decision-Making Service

• Common deficiencies in Functional Capacity Assessments attracting judicial criticism
• The limits of global or template findings in decision-specific applications
• Court expectations around evidence of supports, options and alternatives
• How weak capacity evidence undermines otherwise well-intentioned applications
• Practical steps to reduce evidential and litigation risk

Inherent Jurisdiction Orders

Speaker: Patricia Rickard-Clarke, Solicitor & Chair of Safeguarding Ireland

• Increased reliance on inherent jurisdiction following the end of wardship
• Proposed Protection of Liberty Safeguards
• Use of IJOs in designated centres for detention, treatment and restrictive practices
• Interaction between IJOs and formal decision-support arrangements
• Legal and safeguarding risks for service providers
• Whether current patterns are sustainable under judicial scrutiny

Will and Preference vs Safeguarding: Where the Line Is Now Being Drawn

Speaker: Martina Larkin, Legal Support Unit Lead, Sage Advocacy

• Balancing autonomy and safeguarding in the context of the Guiding Principles
• Identifying risk and sharing responsibilities
• Supervision, amendment or issues arising in decision support arrangements
• Safeguarding from a legislative and policy perspective
• The voice of the Relevant Person

Life After Wardship: What Has Replaced It in Practice?

Speaker: Síona Molony BL, The Law Library

• How cases are being managed now that wardship has formally ended
• Use of Part 5 and Part 6 applications in complex or high-risk situations
• Managing settlements, compensation and funds post-wardship
• Gaps, delays and unintended consequences emerging in the new framework
• Where accountability now lies for long-term decision-making

Healthcare Decisions Under Pressure: Where Clinicians Feel Exposed

• Capacity declarations in clinical settings and perceived liability risks
• Identifying and relying on Advance Healthcare Directives in practice
• Broad healthcare DMR orders and treatment delays
• Refusal of treatment, self-harm scenarios and unresolved tensions
• Risk management for hospitals, nursing homes and residential services

When Decision-Support Arrangements Start to Break Down

• Family decision-makers struggling with reporting, administration or digital systems
• Distinguishing inability from non-compliance in DSS supervision
• DSS expectations versus the realities of unpaid family roles
• Early warning signs that arrangements are no longer appropriate
  
• Consequences of failing to intervene early

Cross-Border Complexity the Act Did Not Fully Resolve

• Enforceability of Irish arrangements outside the State
• Managing overseas property, assets and financial institutions
• Northern Ireland considerations in a post-wardship context
• Limits of international recognition and cooperation
• Practical strategies to reduce exposure

What Comes Next: Litigation Trends, System Strain and Reform Pressure

Speaker: Nora Maguire, BL, The Law Library

• Early post-wardship litigation themes
• Areas of the Act under sustained judicial scrutiny
• Pressure points likely to drive future reform
• Preparing organisational policies for the next phase
• Building defensible decision-making frameworks