Decision Support Service

"Enduring Powers of Attorney are really important tools for planning ahead. Your capacity could shift and diminish in the future, but your choice and your control doesn't have to.

"There’s a bit to making an Enduring Power of Attorney. It takes time to gather up what you need, and to figure out what you want. You’re putting in place a binding future arrangement, so you want to make sure you’re getting it right.

"The Decision Support Service supplies support the whole way along this process.

"You can find a bundle of resources at AdvancePlanning.ie, and we have an EPA Helpdesk (Freephone 01 211 9750) where our staff will step you through the process to help you get it over the line."

Listen back to Director of the Decision Support Service, Áine Flynn, discuss Advance Planning with David McCullagh on RTÉ Radio 1 at the link in bio.

Pictured: Áine Flynn (left), with John & Ro whom you may recognise from the Advance Planning advertising campaign.

An Enduring Power of Attorney gives authority to a person you know and trust, to act on your behalf if you lose the capacity to make certain decisions in the future.

It costs €30 to register an Enduring Power of Attorney with the Decision Support Service.

Visit AdvancePlanning.ie to learn about the steps involved.

Planning ahead is about ensuring your wishes are known and respected. By making things official, it will make things easier for those closest to you.

An Advance Healthcare Directive lets you write down your wishes about healthcare and medical treatment decisions in case you are unable to make these decisions at some time in the future.

You can appoint someone you know and trust as your designated healthcare representative who will aim to ensure your advance healthcare directive is followed.

Making an Advance Healthcare Directive is free of charge.

Visit AdvancePlanning.ie to learn more.

"I think it is very important to plan ahead, and that's in life in general.

People are advised, for example, to make a will so they're covered when they die and things are not left in a mess for those who follow them.

The same principle holds for Enduring Powers of Attorney. That allows people, if they lose the ability to speak for themselves, to have appointed somebody they trust to speak on their behalf.

The same principle holds for Advance Healthcare Directives, where again, you're covering how you would like to be treated, particularly if you've a serious healthcare decision and you can't express your own views"

Listen to Professor Shaun O'Keeffe, Consultant Geriatrician and HSE Clinical Lead – Assisted Decision-Making and Consent (pictured), speak about the importance of Advance Planning at at https://vimeo.com/1189369965/2613f82132?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

If the time comes, who do you want to make decisions for you?

Visit AdvancePlanning.ie to learn more.

Advance Planning is not something to be left to later in life, or to when decision-making capacity appears to be an issue.

It is also a common misconception that future decisions could be left to a 'next of kin' in the event of a loss of capacity. Outside of a formal legal arrangement - such as an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) or an Advance Healthcare Directive (AHD) – a ‘next of kin’ cannot make these decisions.

In our new public information campaign Alan and Noel, father and son, speak about why it is important to them to put Advance Planning in place. Here they are pictured with the Director of the Decision Support Service, Áine Flynn.

Advance Planning is a normal part of life - something positive, practical and empowering.

It costs €30 to register an EPA with the Decision Support Service and an AHD is free of charge.

Visit AdvancePlanning.ie to learn how to put an EPA or an AHD in place.

Any adult, at some point, may become unable to make decisions for themselves. Advance planning ensures your personal choices are known and upheld, should this happen.

It’s not something for later in life, or when decision-making capacity becomes an issue. It is for every adult, at anytime.

Think of it as an act of care for loved ones.

Learn more at AdvancePlanning.ie.

Have you seen or heard our new public information campaign about Advance Planning?

It features ordinary people in real relationships - John & Terri, Tom & Linda, Noel & Alan, and Ro & John - sharing their personal experiences and explaining why it is so important to plan ahead.

Here they are, pictured with Minister of State with special responsibility for Disability, Emer Higgins TD.

This campaign is a joint initiative between the Mental Health Commission through the Decision Support Service, the Health Service Executive (HSE), and the Department of Children Disability and Equality.

Visit AdvancePlanning.ie to learn more.

The Mental Health Commission through the Decision Support Service, the Health Service Executive, and the Department of Children, Disability and Equality have launched a public information campaign about Advance Planning.

Any adult, at some point, may become unable to make decisions for themselves. Advance planning ensures your personal choices are known and upheld, should this happen.

Advance planning lets you record your wishes about your treatment, your welfare and what happens with your money and property.

Look out for our advertisements featuring real couples and families - including Tom & Linda, Ro & John, Noel & Alan, and Terri & John - across radio, TV and online this summer.

Share the message with your loved ones. Advance planning is for everyone, at any time.

Visit AdvancePlanning.ie to learn more.