Looming deadline can’t be met without disruption
The numbers of wards seeking discharge from wardship is far less than anticipated by Government, writes Aine Hynes SC, chair of the Law Society Mental Health and Capacity Task Force.
The legislation provides that all adult wards of court must be reviewed and discharged from wardship by 26 April.
As of October 2025, 1,600 wards or their committees had not yet applied for discharge.
In October 2025, High court president Mr Justice David Barniville listed all the remaining cases to initiate the discharge process for those remaining wards where applications had not been initiated.
Despite Barniville P, and the other three judges assigned in wardship, along with the Office of Wards of Court making every effort to initiate and progress the discharge applications, logistically, it simply isn’t possible for the statutory deadline to be met.
While all applications for discharge have been commenced, some 1,400 wards remain undischarged as of 17 March.
Amendment Bill 2026
Urgent legislative amendments tabled by way of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2026 (ADM(C)A) were debated in the Seanad this morning.
The intention of the legislature is that the wardship court can extend, in individual cases, the three-year timeline, beyond the deadline of 26 April.
Section 1(a) of the Amendment Bill provides that an initial extension can be made by the wardship court where “good reason has been shown as to why that time period will not be met, and (ii) it is in the interests of justice to do so”. A further extension can be made in exceptional circumstances. Section 1(g) provides that “any extensions of time granted in respect of any matter by the wardship court pursuant to this subsection shall not exceed an overall time period of 18 months.”
Accordingly, in each case where it appears that a ward cannot be discharged by the 26 April 2026, the Amendment Bill requires the wardship court to list each of the remaining circa 1,400 cases, so that the wardship court can consider each case and be satisfied to extend the period of time for discharge in each case.
Urgent High Court sittings
It has been indicated that Barniville P and other judges assigned in wardship will need to sit over the Easter vacation and prior to 26 April 2026 to hear these cases.
The High Court has issued a notice today in relation to those listings.
The notice indicates that in a significant number of the remaining cases, it will be necessary for solicitors for the applicants for discharge to swear and file an affidavit providing good reason as to why the time period will not be met.
The listing of some 1,400 cases for extension in individual cases invariably results in an unnecessary burden on court resources, gives rise to a very significant increase in legal costs and places further unnecessary stress and burden on wards and their committees.
Every effort
Despite every effort being made by the Judiciary, the Office of Wards of Court and practitioners, it is likely that it will not be logistically possible to case manage all of these cases prior to the 26 April 2026 deadline – this may result in legal challenges.
It also significantly impacts on the wardship court’s ability to hear the remaining cases for discharge.
The Law Society Task force on Mental Health Law and Capacity had recommended that a simple extension to the time period specified in section 54(2) of the ADM(C)A should be made for one year.
Should any wards remain undischarged at that time, individual cases could be set down for specific further extension for exceptional reasons.