Paper Example on Protection and Safeguarding of Venerable Adults Based in Ireland and on Irish Legislation

Introduction

Protection and safeguarding of the vulnerable adults take another turn through legislation to make Ireland and on Irish a real home of adults. The rate of increase in elder abuse has been recognized as the major concern in Ireland over the last ten years. Following the first publication of exploratory study regarding abuse of human rights, a Working Group was formed to investigate the cases of elder abuse. The philosophy of the group was to protect the people's future and make viable resolutions to the matter. After comprehensive research, the team advocated for the formation of a national review policy and systematic procedures of vulnerable adults abuse. The demand required new review in order to come up with the best resolution for protecting elderly people. In June 2013 the statutory body and law reform were charged with the task of reviewing and also developing practical proposals for total reform. The promising thing is the idea of having the legal mechanism of shielding the vulnerable people from all forms and exploitations.

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Historical Context: Lack of Specific Legislation

Historically, there were no specific laws put in place in Ireland and Irish so as to protect the vulnerable individuals from all forms of abuse. Although the state remained without the rights of dealing with the culprits of adult abuse there were many other different laws that were applied to deal with issues both in the effort of protecting the individual adults who were prone to any kind of abuse. The rule of law was only regarding prosecution of involved persons, that is the suspects of mistreatment abuse and neglect. The new rules and regulation as contemplated in the bill of rights addressed the following type of abuse. First is the physical abuse, it can be manifested in different forms, hitting, slapping, and misuse of medication, pushing and kicking. Sexual abuse; this entails the sexual indulgence such as rape or sexual assault and or circumstance to which an individual has not consented to engage in any sexual acts. Psychological abuse, this entails any form of emotional abuse deprivation of contact, threats of danger, intimidation, blaming, harassment withdrawal of support isolation and verbal confrontation.

Forms of Elder Abuse and Legislative Response

Financial abuse, it refers to the acts of theft pressure in the link to the wills, property inheritance and possession benefits.

Institutional abuse, this may take place within the residential areas not limited to the nursing homes, and acute hospitals. The violation of rights may entail poor care standards inadequate response to the urgent needs and rigid routines. A diverse law meant to redress the case depends on the nature of abuse, i.e. domestic violence, or tort. The laws formulated may be applied to any other adult since it is within the same jurisdiction.

The new law reform commission outlined some of the legislation relevant to the elder abuse. The Ireland statutes were so sensitive to ensure that any case related to the adult abuse is properly tackled.

The legislation included domestic violence, health and social care, nursing home subversion, mental capacity and mental health. The criminal laws were described as they matter the most in the court proceeding regarding criminal and civil laws.

The Irish constitution outlines the framework regarding the age of all the people across the domain of age difference. Some of the articles regarding the elder abuse entailed the following.

That the state guarantees the protection of citizens' rights with due respect, it is also supposed to shield everyone from unjust attack and in case of justice to protect vindicate the innocent and impose the right penalty to the culprit.

Constitutional Framework for Protecting Vulnerable Adults

Second is that no one shall lose his personal property as contemplated in the rule of law? The fact is that the vulnerable people are shielded from any forceful deprivation of property. The state also distinguishes family as the core unit of the society and the most fundamental group. A family is also termed as the moral institution that with inalienable, antecedent and superior to all kinds of law. As a result, the confine of the family unit is accorded the due respect without hesitation. All the vulnerable individuals within the family unit have the due rights. In another article, the state guarantees itself to maximize safety with the absolute care of economic interests.

All adults have ultimate right to be protected from all forms of abuse. Indeed everyone is entitled to this right irrespective of their prevailing circumstances. It is the singular responsibility of all the service providers and the organs within the statutory and non-statutory confine to ensure fair treatments to all. Everyone deserves the right to respect. Their welfare should be promoted without prejudice and ill will. In addition, efforts should be put in place to guarantee maximum support in the country.

In December 2014 a new HSE policy for safeguarding adults was launched. The main focus was to assure ultimate protection of older persons and the persons with disability especially those who are vulnerable due to physical intellectual impairment and age of an individual. Research in the effort of addressing several cases and complaints pertaining human rights by the Ireland organization for human right protection indicates that the cases of adult's abuse are beyond tolerance.Consequently, the legislative body came up with the new bill to protect the vulnerable adults.

The "Safeguarding Vulnerable Persons at Risk of Abuse - National Policy and Procedures", outlines the principles and regulations with an aim of protecting the welfare of vulnerable people from all forms of abuse. The new rules and regulation were formulated through; legislative process. Their provision requires that every organ should declare their principles and guidelines as "no tolerance approach" to all kinds of abuse. Some of the formulated policies include, respect to human rights, promotion of advocacy, empowerment of individuals, person-centered and to maximum care and services, and promotion of care and services.

Inalienable Rights of Vulnerable Adults

The provision of the legislature cites that all venerable adults have rights to protection against all forms of abuse. They also have legitimate rights to address any abuse concerns without reservation. The legislature provides that everyone should with respect and regardless of their residential settings. The new technology and communication system was designed to ensure that everybody is protected from all kinds of abuse. The HSE is and organ that is formed to ensure that any case regarding abuse of rights is addressed immediately. In addition it has appointed formation of confidential recipients who are indeed capable of reporting cases of abuse and negligence. The reporting is designed to reach the immediate health care professional. Since the formulation of the policy the incidences pertaining abuse of rights has been subjected to justice through the rule of law and the convict's verdicts issued on time.

In response to different vulnerable groups, the breakdown of rules has been stipulated. The aged mental capacity and mental health legislation act are specifically for the aged. Although most of the elderly people are mentally and physically healthy, they are classified as vulnerable. They are summed up in the same group of those with the mental disability, and physical disability.

Dementia has been regarded as the cognitive dysfunction mixed with depression. It is one of the factors that make the elderly people vulnerable. Any situation associated with the elder abuse is considered within the context of laws dealing with the mental capacity along with the mental wealth. In Ireland, the law authorizes persons above 18 years. Anybody who has attained the age has a freedom of decision making the provision is regarded in the capacity of decision making. However, there are individuals who have no full capacity of decision making. Therefore the law has the obligation of protecting vulnerable persons to prevent abuse. The legislative about mental capacity is incorporated in the Lunacy regulation (Ireland) Act in the powers of the attorney. The provisions focus on ensuring that every individual is guided by the act in decision making to prevent exploitation. Under the law, there are two main substitutes that assume when one is deemed incapable decision making, enduring power of the attorney and the wards court system.

The Ward of the Court

The ward court is a shield intended to protect the property as well as the welfare of a person who lacks the capacity of managing their affairs. The court is held responsible for the aid of decision making. The similar law is applicable to older people and extends to persons who do not have the separate legal capacity of decision making. According to the court, 75-80% of all the people who are brought into the ward process are elderly people. Also, about 10% entails the people with infirmity. In the year 2003 Ireland set out definite criteria and the procedure through the warship. The jurisdiction of the court ward was limited since the property prospective subject to did not exceed six thousand Euros. Furthermore, the income was not three hundred and seventy-five euro per year. The responsibility of the ward system is conferred to the Supreme Court system. The president of the Supreme Court and the jury has the overall power to make a judgment in order to shield the vulnerable adults from exploitation especially during the property acquisition and transfer.

In the event of award court, the presiding judge normally appoints a committee that acts as the jury it may comprise of one or more persons with at least one from the family of the concerned individual. In this case, the selected individual must be held as the provider of personal care. When the court is satisfied the appointed individual is conferred with power to act on behalf. The highest level of integrity is expected during the event.

According to the law reform, the court has the right to remove the individual entrusted in decision making and can confer the power to the ward court system. The focus of this system is to protect the vulnerable against all forms of exploitation of the vulnerable individual adult(s) and make the decision on matters relating to property right when a need arises. The provision of the law clarifies that any person who has committed into wardship cannot: marry, enter into binding contract, independently defend legal proceedings, cannot have a bank account or buy a property. In addition, such a person has no legal capacity for decision making in medical treatment. If however the court is satisfied that the client is in a position to make the rational judgment then curtail may be revoked.

The Health Act

The health act provides the legal safeguards for people willing to report serious concerns about the safety standards the purpose is to guarantee the Irish quality health. The law was formed in 2009 and its focus was to allow protected disclosure of health matters. The act ensures that the vulnerable adults are well protected and are accorded the rights to medical care. In some cases, the employer may be suppressive and deny the worker the right to medical care. Such a situation is contemplated in the health act.