The impact of Irish policy and legislation on how adults with learning disabilities make choices

Accessible summary: Choice is important to people with learning disabilities. The people who make laws want people with learning disabilities to make more choices. People in different countries make their own laws. Some people make decisions themselves or get help to make decisions. Sometimes other people make decisions for people with learning disabilities. It is important that the laws people make support people with learning disabilities to do what they want to do. Summary: This paper reflects the impact of policy and legislation in the context of how adults with learning disabilities make choices. Following an overview of policies which have improved choice for people with learning disability in the United Kingdom, this paper reviews 'choice' in current Irish policy and legislation. This paper, while making comparisons with capacity legislation in the United Kingdom, presents a discussion on the perceived impact of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill (2013) based on submissions from the Citizens Information Board (2013a), Mental Health Reform (2014), and Quinn (2013). Further choice making challenges such as direct payments and information sharing which confront adults with learning disabilities are highlighted and overall conclusions are drawn.