An enduring power of attorney (EPA) lets you choose someone you trust to make certain decisions for you if you later lose capacity. In Ireland, new EPAs are made and registered through the Decision Support Service (DSS), under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. You need a statement from a solicitor or barrister, a capacity statement from a doctor or listed healthcare professional, and two witnesses. Registering costs €30. The EPA only comes into effect later, if your attorney tells the DSS you have lost capacity. That step costs €90 and needs statements from two healthcare professionals. Your next of kin does not automatically have legal authority to decide for you. An EPA cannot cover medical treatment decisions. Those belong in an advance healthcare directive. (Fees and processing times checked 2 November 2026.)
This guide is for adults living with a brain or mental health condition, and the families who support them. It explains the capacity law, the five arrangements it created, and the EPA process step by step.
The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 came into force on 26 April 2023. It replaced the old wardship system for adults.
Under wardship, a ward lost the legal right to make decisions about their life, including everyday ones. New wardship applications can no longer be made. Existing adult wards are being reviewed by the courts. The DSS says amendments are being brought forward so that every review is completed by 25 October 2027 at the latest.
The new system is built around supporting people to make their own decisions, for as long as possible.
Capacity is about a specific decision at a specific time. It is not a label that follows a diagnosis. The DSS describes four things you need to be able to do for a given decision:
The Act sets out guiding principles that anyone intervening must follow. You are presumed to have capacity unless the contrary is shown. You cannot be treated as unable to decide until all practicable steps to help you have failed. Making an unwise decision does not, by itself, mean you lack capacity.
This matters for conditions where capacity can change over time, such as a progressive dementia. If memory or thinking changes are new for you, our guides to mild cognitive impairment and young-onset dementia explain what assessment involves.
The Act created three arrangements for support now, and two for planning ahead.
By 30 September 2026, the DSS had registered 9,926 EPAs since the Act commenced.
An EPA can cover personal welfare decisions, property and affairs decisions, or both.
You can give general authority or list specific decisions. You can add conditions or exclusions. You can appoint more than one attorney and decide whether they act jointly, or jointly and severally. You can also name replacement attorneys, choose whether to pay your attorney, and decide whether they can make gifts.
An EPA cannot include consent to, or refusal of, healthcare treatment. For that, you need a separate advance healthcare directive.
Your attorney must be 18 or over. Citizens Information lists people who cannot act, including anyone convicted of certain offences against you. An undischarged bankrupt is also excluded, with some exceptions for personal-welfare-only EPAs.
Most people apply online through the DSS portal, MyDSS. The DSS checklist sets out these steps.
Both witnesses must be 18 or over. Neither can be an agent or employee of an attorney. At least one cannot be an immediate family member of you or any attorney. The DSS list of immediate family runs from spouses and children to aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces.
A registered medical practitioner, such as your GP or a consultant, can complete it. So can a registered nurse, midwife, occupational therapist, speech and language therapist or social worker.
Your notice parties include your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, your adult children and stepchildren, and any existing decision supporters. If you have fewer than three of these, you must tell at least two other people, such as friends or professionals. They can object within five weeks.
After you submit, there is a statutory five-week objection period. Your application then joins a queue for review. On 2 November 2026, the DSS said it was completing initial reviews of applications submitted in September 2026.
If you cannot use MyDSS, the DSS EPA helpdesk is on Freephone (01) 211 9750, or epahelpdesk@decisionsupportservice.ie.
The DSS can waive application fees. Eligibility depends on household income after tax, adjusted for dependants. The threshold on 2 November 2026 was an equivalised income below €17,998.
There are also costs the DSS does not set. These include the solicitor's statement and the capacity statement. Ask for a quote in advance.
Registering an EPA does not hand over control. You keep making your own decisions. Your attorney has no authority until they notify the DSS that you can no longer make one or more of the decisions in it.
To notify, your attorney needs statements from two healthcare professionals confirming you lack capacity for those decisions. They must tell you and the notice parties, and pay €90. The DSS reviews the application. If it accepts, the EPA comes into effect and the attorney receives a certified copy.
After that, the DSS monitors the arrangement. Attorneys must report every year. Where they handle property and affairs, they must keep proper accounts and submit a list of your assets, liabilities, income and expenses.
While you have capacity, you can change a registered EPA after it has been registered for six months. After that, you can change it once a year, unless the DSS agrees otherwise. You cannot swap an attorney by changing it. You would need to revoke it and make a new one.
An EPA ends if you revoke it or if no attorney is left to act. It also ends if it is rescinded after you regain capacity, or on your death.
Before 26 April 2023, EPAs were made under the Powers of Attorney Act 1996. Citizens Information says those made correctly remain valid. They take effect only if registered with the Office of Wards of Court, not the DSS. If you revoke one and make a new EPA under the 2015 Act, the DSS says you may be entitled to a fee waiver.
Many families assume next of kin can step in. The DSS is clear that this is not correct.
Without an EPA, someone may have to apply to court for a declaration about the person's capacity. If the court finds they cannot make certain decisions, it may make a decision-making representation order. Citizens Information says this is done by the Circuit Court.
Only the court decides whether to appoint a representative, who it will be, and what they can decide. If no suitable person is available, the court can appoint someone from the DSS panel. Panel representatives are paid, and that payment may come from the person's estate.
Before applying, you must check there is no less intrusive option. That includes informal support, a decision-making assistance agreement or a co-decision-making agreement. The applicant may need a lawyer. The person the application is about may be entitled to legal aid.
Some conditions affect decision-making on and off, rather than steadily. An EPA can be activated for one or more of the decisions in it, not necessarily all of them. If you later regain capacity and this looks permanent, your attorney can apply to rescind it.
While you can still decide with help, an assistance or co-decision-making agreement may fit better than handing decisions over. It is worth talking this through early, while you can take part fully. Our guides to frontotemporal dementia and Lewy body dementia describe how some conditions change judgement or fluctuate.
You will need a solicitor or barrister for the EPA statement anyway. Ask them about anything complex, such as several properties, a business, or ongoing court proceedings. Get legal advice if there is family disagreement, or if a court application looks likely.
For free information, call the Citizens Information Phone Service on 0818 07 4000, Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm. The DSS also answers general questions on (01) 211 9750 or queries@decisionsupportservice.ie.
If you are worried about memory or thinking, see your GP first. Our guide to memory worries and normal ageing explains what is worth getting checked.
Yes, if you have capacity to make it at the time. A doctor or listed healthcare professional must confirm this in the statement of capacity. Capacity is judged decision by decision, not by diagnosis.
No. Being next of kin does not give legal authority to make decisions or manage your affairs. An EPA, or another arrangement under the 2015 Act, is needed.
No. An EPA cannot include consent to, or refusal of, healthcare treatment. You can cover treatment wishes in an advance healthcare directive, which is free to make.
Yes. The online portal is the usual route, but the DSS says it can help if you cannot use MyDSS. Call (01) 211 9750.
The DSS lists four ways. You revoke it while you have capacity, or no attorney is left to act. It is rescinded after you regain capacity, or you die.
This article is general information about Irish law and processes, not legal advice. Rules and fees change, so check with the Decision Support Service, Citizens Information or a solicitor before acting.
Reviewed by: Proco Team
Last updated: November 2026