The High Court has discharged an anonymised vulnerable man from wardship and transferred support for his personal and financial decisions to the system established under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015.
Mr Justice Mark Heslin delivered the ruling on 23 March 2026. The respondent, identified only as V, was born in the 1950s and has diagnoses of paranoid schizophrenia and intellectual disability. He entered wardship in 2022 and lives in a residential care setting where he receives ongoing support.
The court proceeded without V being present after finding that he had expressed a wish not to participate and that appropriate efforts had been made to ascertain his views.
Medical evidence from Dr W assessed V’s capacity in relation to both personal welfare and property and affairs. The doctor concluded that he lacked capacity to make decisions in either area even if a suitable co-decision-maker were available. That evidence was not disputed.
A brother whom V trusts was unable to take on a formal decision-making role because of his own health. The court therefore appointed X, an experienced social worker selected from the Decision Support Service panel, as V’s decision-making representative.
The representative was authorised to manage V’s assets, receive funds held by the Courts Service and committee account, operate necessary accounts and receive Department of Social Protection payments on his behalf. He must account to the Director of the Decision Support Service.
The court also prohibited publication of information capable of identifying V as someone with a medical condition.
Mr Justice Heslin ordered that V’s capacity be reviewed by the Circuit Court no later than three years from the date of the orders. No costs order was made because legal aid was in place.
The judge stressed that V’s day-to-day life and residential placement would not change as a result of leaving wardship.