Getting your affairs in order is a job most of us put on the long finger. Now, a recently established agency is urging people not to wait until later in life to get the job done.
The Decision Support Service is a national service for adults who may require help to exercise their right to make decisions – now or in the future. It supplies information on how to access supports to formalise their decision-making about their personal welfare, including healthcare decisions, and/or property and financial affairs.
While it is designed to support those who may have difficulties with decision-making, such as those with an intellectual disability or people who have suffered an acquired brain injury or dementia, the service is also aimed at people who want to plan for the future and ensure their decisions and wishes are understood, protected and respected should they lose capacity to make those decisions.
Dr Áine Flynn, director of the Decision Support Service spoke to Irish Country Living to explain the importance of people, particularly farming families, utilising the service.
“I believe this service is very important, particularly for the farming sector, as the area of succession can become tricky and contentious if proper arrangements have not been made,” says Áine.
“This is not necessarily about succession at the point of death, it can be after acquired brain injury, the onset of neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia, or other severe life-threatening injuries.”
New framework of support
The Decision Support Service promotes public awareness and confidence in the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) 2015 Act, which abolished the wards of courts system under the Victorian-era Lunacy Regulation Act of 1871, and introduced a new framework of supports.
These include a range of decision support arrangements, along with a new form of enduring power of attorney (EPA) and an advance healthcare directive.
“Enduring power of attorney (EPA) has been around since the mid-1990s but the format and the procedures have changed,” explains Áine.
“The donor is the person to whom the EPA applies and the attorney is the nominated person who makes decisions in accordance with the terms of the EPA, on the donor’s behalf. [More than one attorney can be appointed and they do not have to have any legal background].
“When an EPA is set up, it is sent to the Decision Support Service for review and approval. Certain people are put on notice, including a spouse, co-habitant or civil partner, any adult children and any other decision supporters a person has. These people can lodge an objection to the terms of the EPA, with a list of specific grounds for objection listed on the DSS website. This is a safeguarding measure, but we have had very few of these to deal with so far. We then check the EPA’s compliance before we send it to the register. This averts the need for a person to apply to court to enact the EPA when it is needed.
“It’s a very good idea too to future proof your EPA where you name replacement attorneys in the event that your first choice predeceases you. This can happen where a spouse is named as the attorney, but where adult children are also nominated it means they can continue on. In the event a co-attorney is not named and the attorney passes away, the process may have to be started all over again.
“We are trying to demystify this whole process and give people the support and confidence to go through it to safeguard their future.
“The simplest way to set up a DSS account is to do it through the MyGov.ie portal, but we are conscious of the fact not everyone will be comfortable with an online application process. We know that rural broadband can present challenges so we can supply the forms in hard copy. There are a lot of resources available and we are there to help people through our dedicated helpdesk.
“There is an increased appetite for the new service and of the applications that have been received so far, 10% are done through a solicitor but 90% are by the person themselves. Since the service launched in 2023, 2,100 applications have been registered with a further 2,100 submitted for review.
Next of kin
Tony and Aileen O’Connor from Co Dublin have recently used the DSS to register their EPAs.
Speaking to Irish Country Living, Tony (84) says he had been shocked to discover the cost of the process some friends reported when they had enlisted a solicitor.
“I am very lucky that both myself and my wife are in good health, but so many of our friends have found themselves in situations where their health has suffered and they were unable to put their affairs in order,” he says.
“I looked into setting up an enduring power of attorney but was taken aback at the prices paid by friends who reported solicitor fees of up €1,800. When I discovered I could do it myself, I decided to go ahead.
“I kept it simple, nominating Aileen as my attorney and it couldn’t have been easier as the DSS staff are so helpful. I did naturally have some questions when I was going through the forms online but a few phone calls to DSS were answered promptly and clarified things, so all in all it was a pretty painless process.
People from a farming background are very much advised to engage in this kind of forward planning. People think that because they have a will, that’s all they need
“We then repeated the process for Aileen, nominating our adult children as her attorneys, and printed off the forms to get the necessary witnesses and signatures.”
Aileen says people should not be deterred from something that many consider a daunting process.
“It’s important people realise this is not something that is beyond them,” she says.
“You just need the self-confidence to go through the forms and navigate a process that is very straightforward. The problem is people find it strange to take on something they would typically hand over to their solicitor, but this is one thing they can do on their own.”
Áine Flynn says people should not fall into the trap of believing that by having a will or a nominated next of kin, their wishes will be honoured.
“People from a farming background are very much advised to engage in this kind of forward planning. People think that because they have a will, that’s all they need. But a will only kicks in when you’ve passed away, an EPA applies when you’re still here but have lost the ability to make your own decisions regarding your property, land, bills, and personal welfare.”
“We have got better at making wills but we need to plan for sudden events in our health, or degenerative illnesses that impact our ability to make decisions. This isn’t about handing away the keys of the farm – and the hope is an EPA is never moved to the next stage. It’s having arrangements in place if or when it’s needed.
“The frequent misunderstanding is that of the next of kin myth, whereby people think that by being someone’s next of kin, they are the authorised decision-maker – but that is not the case. It never was and if you are someone’s next of kin you have no role as that person’s legal decision maker when it comes to bank accounts or property transfer matters.
Dr Áine Flynn, director of the Decision Support Service.
“Under the new act, the attorney has to keep accounts and records and report to us so it is worth thinking carefully as to who your attorney should be. After going through the process you will have the comfort of having your affairs in order.
“Our youngest applicant to date is 26-years-old and the oldest is 106 – she completed the process online and nominated her children, in their 70s as her attorneys. Setting up an EPA shouldn’t be done in a rush but if you don’t have one, then the best time to get one is now.”
In short
A person must have capacity to instigate an enduring power of attorney and a lack of capacity must be proven in order for it to be enacted.A capacity statement is required and can be provided by a doctor or a listed health care practitioner including a nurse, a social worker, a speech and language therapist or an occupational therapist. It is time-specific and issue-specific where the capacity of someone is proven in their ability to understand, retain and weigh up decisions.A legal practitioner statement is also required that certifies that the donor knows what they are doing and they are not acting under undue influence or coercion or that there are no fraudulent reasons at play.Further information can be obtained from the DSS helpdesk, freephone 01 2119750 or by
emailing epahelpdesk@decisionsupportservice.ie.
Getting your affairs in order is a job most of us put on the long finger. Now, a recently established agency is urging people not to wait until later in life to get the job done.
The Decision Support Service is a national service for adults who may require help to exercise their right to make decisions – now or in the future. It supplies information on how to access supports to formalise their decision-making about their personal welfare, including healthcare decisions, and/or property and financial affairs.
While it is designed to support those who may have difficulties with decision-making, such as those with an intellectual disability or people who have suffered an acquired brain injury or dementia, the service is also aimed at people who want to plan for the future and ensure their decisions and wishes are understood, protected and respected should they lose capacity to make those decisions.
Dr Áine Flynn, director of the Decision Support Service spoke to Irish Country Living to explain the importance of people, particularly farming families, utilising the service.
“I believe this service is very important, particularly for the farming sector, as the area of succession can become tricky and contentious if proper arrangements have not been made,” says Áine.
“This is not necessarily about succession at the point of death, it can be after acquired brain injury, the onset of neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia, or other severe life-threatening injuries.”
New framework of support
The Decision Support Service promotes public awareness and confidence in the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) 2015 Act, which abolished the wards of courts system under the Victorian-era Lunacy Regulation Act of 1871, and introduced a new framework of supports.
These include a range of decision support arrangements, along with a new form of enduring power of attorney (EPA) and an advance healthcare directive.
“Enduring power of attorney (EPA) has been around since the mid-1990s but the format and the procedures have changed,” explains Áine.
“The donor is the person to whom the EPA applies and the attorney is the nominated person who makes decisions in accordance with the terms of the EPA, on the donor’s behalf. [More than one attorney can be appointed and they do not have to have any legal background].
“When an EPA is set up, it is sent to the Decision Support Service for review and approval. Certain people are put on notice, including a spouse, co-habitant or civil partner, any adult children and any other decision supporters a person has. These people can lodge an objection to the terms of the EPA, with a list of specific grounds for objection listed on the DSS website. This is a safeguarding measure, but we have had very few of these to deal with so far. We then check the EPA’s compliance before we send it to the register. This averts the need for a person to apply to court to enact the EPA when it is needed.
“It’s a very good idea too to future proof your EPA where you name replacement attorneys in the event that your first choice predeceases you. This can happen where a spouse is named as the attorney, but where adult children are also nominated it means they can continue on. In the event a co-attorney is not named and the attorney passes away, the process may have to be started all over again.
“We are trying to demystify this whole process and give people the support and confidence to go through it to safeguard their future.
“The simplest way to set up a DSS account is to do it through the MyGov.ie portal, but we are conscious of the fact not everyone will be comfortable with an online application process. We know that rural broadband can present challenges so we can supply the forms in hard copy. There are a lot of resources available and we are there to help people through our dedicated helpdesk.
“There is an increased appetite for the new service and of the applications that have been received so far, 10% are done through a solicitor but 90% are by the person themselves. Since the service launched in 2023, 2,100 applications have been registered with a further 2,100 submitted for review.
Next of kin
Tony and Aileen O’Connor from Co Dublin have recently used the DSS to register their EPAs.
Speaking to Irish Country Living, Tony (84) says he had been shocked to discover the cost of the process some friends reported when they had enlisted a solicitor.
“I am very lucky that both myself and my wife are in good health, but so many of our friends have found themselves in situations where their health has suffered and they were unable to put their affairs in order,” he says.
“I looked into setting up an enduring power of attorney but was taken aback at the prices paid by friends who reported solicitor fees of up €1,800. When I discovered I could do it myself, I decided to go ahead.
“I kept it simple, nominating Aileen as my attorney and it couldn’t have been easier as the DSS staff are so helpful. I did naturally have some questions when I was going through the forms online but a few phone calls to DSS were answered promptly and clarified things, so all in all it was a pretty painless process.
People from a farming background are very much advised to engage in this kind of forward planning. People think that because they have a will, that’s all they need
“We then repeated the process for Aileen, nominating our adult children as her attorneys, and printed off the forms to get the necessary witnesses and signatures.”
Aileen says people should not be deterred from something that many consider a daunting process.
“It’s important people realise this is not something that is beyond them,” she says.
“You just need the self-confidence to go through the forms and navigate a process that is very straightforward. The problem is people find it strange to take on something they would typically hand over to their solicitor, but this is one thing they can do on their own.”
Áine Flynn says people should not fall into the trap of believing that by having a will or a nominated next of kin, their wishes will be honoured.
“People from a farming background are very much advised to engage in this kind of forward planning. People think that because they have a will, that’s all they need. But a will only kicks in when you’ve passed away, an EPA applies when you’re still here but have lost the ability to make your own decisions regarding your property, land, bills, and personal welfare.”
“We have got better at making wills but we need to plan for sudden events in our health, or degenerative illnesses that impact our ability to make decisions. This isn’t about handing away the keys of the farm – and the hope is an EPA is never moved to the next stage. It’s having arrangements in place if or when it’s needed.
“The frequent misunderstanding is that of the next of kin myth, whereby people think that by being someone’s next of kin, they are the authorised decision-maker – but that is not the case. It never was and if you are someone’s next of kin you have no role as that person’s legal decision maker when it comes to bank accounts or property transfer matters.
Dr Áine Flynn, director of the Decision Support Service.
“Under the new act, the attorney has to keep accounts and records and report to us so it is worth thinking carefully as to who your attorney should be. After going through the process you will have the comfort of having your affairs in order.
“Our youngest applicant to date is 26-years-old and the oldest is 106 – she completed the process online and nominated her children, in their 70s as her attorneys. Setting up an EPA shouldn’t be done in a rush but if you don’t have one, then the best time to get one is now.”
In short
A person must have capacity to instigate an enduring power of attorney and a lack of capacity must be proven in order for it to be enacted.A capacity statement is required and can be provided by a doctor or a listed health care practitioner including a nurse, a social worker, a speech and language therapist or an occupational therapist. It is time-specific and issue-specific where the capacity of someone is proven in their ability to understand, retain and weigh up decisions.A legal practitioner statement is also required that certifies that the donor knows what they are doing and they are not acting under undue influence or coercion or that there are no fraudulent reasons at play.Further information can be obtained from the DSS helpdesk, freephone 01 2119750 or by
emailing epahelpdesk@decisionsupportservice.ie. 
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