THE incidence of Alzheimer's disease was bound to increase because of our aging population, the Fianna Fail spokesman on law reform, Dr Michael Woods, said.
Welcoming the Powers of Attorney Bill he said up to 25,000 people suffer from the disease, and in 1991, 27,900 people were referred to the psychiatric services with some form of mental illness.
The Bill would allow any person of sound mind to make provision for the administration of their affairs if they feared lapsing into dementia in the future. He hoped it would be possible for them to register their power of attorney on a local basis, perhaps through the circuit courts.
Many families faced severe difficulties when parents suffered mental illness and because of our antiquated property laws children had no right to intervene.
The Minister for Equality and Law Reform, Mr Taylor, introducing the Bill, said it provided for granting a power of attorney which would only take effect when the donor became mentally incapable. The advantage was that donors had a full understanding of what would be involved in managing their property and affairs when granting the power of attorney.
