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Ireland: Call for New Laws to Protect Elderly
By John Breslin, Irish Examiner
June 10, 2003 Ireland - Following
the publication of its report on the law and elderly people, the Law
Reform Commission described the ward of court system as archaic and
"rooted in the 19th century". Currently, an
elderly person has to be mentally incapable, usually suffering from
dementia, for a ward of court order to be made. It takes time and
is also expensive, costing an average of €4,500. The prime
consideration in most adult wardship applications there were 131 last year
and most were made by family members relates to the assets of the elderly
person and the transfer of power of attorney. Patricia
Rickard-Clarke, one of the commissioners, called for a more flexible
system which would allow various agencies, such as health and social
services or gardaí, to step in when it appears an elderly person may be
at risk. An Office of the
Public Guardian, supervised by a tribunal, should be established,
maintaining close links with the agencies. The office could
rule on guardianship, where an elderly person is mentally incapable, or
make lesser ntervention orders, she said. Age Action, a
support group for elderly people, said it would welcome changes to the
High Court system. But spokesman
Gerard Scully warned: "Any changes should not mean elderly people are
left vulnerable for the sake of expediency. "Care
decisions have to be made and sometimes very quickly. I got a call this
morning from a woman whose mother is suffering from dementia. "She has to
finance her care, but needs power of attorney to rent or sell the house.
If this takes too long, the older person might suffer," he said. Ms Rickard-Clarke
added: "If people are vulnerable but still have their medical
faculties, wards of court do not apply." But she said they
might still be vulnerable or might not be treated properly by those
looking after them, with a family or in residential care. It is also
recommended that a personal guardian is appointed, someone with an
important supervisory role. A new guardian
system would, the Law Reform Commission argues, offer greater protection
against abuse, whether physical, financial or as a result of neglect. The
extent of elder abuse in Ireland is unknown but international studies show
that up to 5% of elderly people suffer in some way. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
