You can appoint a decision-making assistant by making a decision-making assistance agreement. The agreement must be in writing and include details of the decisions that your decision-making assistant will help you with. It must include a statement by you that you understand the agreement. It must also include confirmation by your decision-making assistant that they understand their duties and will carry them out.
Both you and your decision-making assistant must sign the written agreement and a person approved by Regulation e.g., Commissioner for Oaths, Garda Síochána must witness it.
A decision-making assistance agreement takes effect from the date of its execution.
You can have more than one decision-making assistance agreement and you can have more than one decision-making assistant for each agreement.
Making a decision-making assistance agreement – step by step
Making a decision-making assistance agreement takes a number of steps. You may need a person you trust to help you to complete these steps.
We will give you with the forms and templates you need to make a decision-making assistance agreement and to notify us of it.
The easiest way to make a decision-making assistance agreement is by setting up an account on our online portal at the link MyDSS and completing an application online. If you cannot access a computer or set up an account online, that is no problem. You can contact us, and we will help you set up your account. Click on the link Contact Us.
The DSS has an Accessibility Policy. Click on the link Accessibility Policy for information.
Before you begin
Before you begin the application, you should decide:
- Who do you want as your decision-making assistant?
- What types of decision do you want them to help you with now and in the future?
- Are there any decisions you do not want or need help with?
- Are there any organisations, businesses or professionals that will want to see a copy of your decision-making assistance agreement?
Steps to make a decision-making assistance agreement
This section tells you the steps to take to make a decision-making assistance agreement using our online portal. We are available to help provide information and guidance at every step in the process.
- First set up a fully verified MyDSS account by clicking on the link MyDSS
Ask the person who will act as your decision-making assistant to also set up a fully verified MyDSS account.
You can find detailed instructions and videos on how to open and verify an account in the MyDSS 'How to' video section of the website at the link MyDSS How to Videos.
- Complete the application to make a decision-making assistance agreement.
You can make your application using MyDSS by filling out the application for a decision-making assistance agreement
Once you log in to your myDSS account and choose decision-making assistance agreement, start a new application.
The first part of the application is the decision-making assistance agreement form. There are four sections in this form:
- Relevant person details – this is information about you, the person making the agreement
- Supporter details – this is information about the person you are choosing to be your decision-making assistant
- Existing arrangements – in this section, you tell us if you have any other existing decision support arrangements
- Arrangement decisions – in this section you tell us what decisions you want help with. You also tell us how long you want the agreement to last.
- Download template forms
After you have filled out the four sections of the form and are happy with what you have included in your decision-making assistance agreement, save it and download the following forms:
Form | About |
| Decision-making assistance agreement template | This is a copy of your decision-making assistance agreement so far. You must bring this with you when signing your declarations in front of your witness. You can find a sample form at the link Decision-making assistance agreement. |
| Appointer declaration form | This is the part of your decision-making assistance agreement that you sign in front of an approved witness. You will have to confirm that you understand and agree to enter into the agreement. You can find a sample form at link Decision-making assistant appointer declaration. |
| Decision-making assistant declaration form | This is the part of your decision-making assistance agreement that your decision-making assistant signs in front of an approved witness. You can find a sample for at the link Decision-making assistant agreement declaration form |
- Sign the declarations in your decision-making assistance agreement in front of an approved witness
You and your decision-making assistant must sign the declarations in your decision-making assistance agreement in front of an approved witness. The witness must not be an immediate family member of to the appointer or the decision-making assistant, nor an employee or agent of the decision making assistant nor party to the decision-making assistance agreement.
The witness must be one of the following:
- a registered medical practitioner
- a garda
- a commissioner for oaths
- a member of clergy
- a practising lawyer
- an elected public representative
- a practising accountant
- a dentist
- a pharmacist
- a specified healthcare professional
If you are physically unable to complete the declaration, someone else can sign on your behalf. They must do this in front of you and your witness.
⚠ NOTE From this step, you have five weeks to give notice of your decision-making assistance agreement to your mandatory notice parties.
You or your decision-making assistant must tell certain people, such as your spouse or civil partner, and adult children, about the agreement. These people are called your ‘notice parties’. We will give you a notice form that you can send or email to your notice parties and you must also give them a copy of the agreement.
- Upload completed forms and statements
After you have completed all of the required forms, upload them to our portal at the link MyDSS. You will need to give us details of your witness at this time.
- Pay the notification fee
You must now pay the notification fee. Depending on your financial position, you can also apply to have the fee waived, meaning you would not have to pay it. Your income and dependents are taken into account when deciding on a fee waiver.
We do not accept cheques, postal orders, or bank drafts. You must make your payment electronically through your MyDSS account.
If you do not have a MyDSS account and are making a manual application using paper application forms, you can pay over the phone once your application and supporting documents are complete. Our staff will contact you when payment is required.
- Submit your documentation
After completing all steps, you can now submit your documentation to us.
After you submit your documentation
After you submit your documentation to us we will review the documentation received to make sure they are correct documents and are in the format as specified by the Director of the DSS.
Find out more
You can read more about making a decision-making assistance agreement in our guidance material, in the Resources section of our website at the link Resources section.
The guidance includes important information about:
- The things you need to consider before you make a decision-making assistance agreement
- The types of decisions you can get help with
- What the person you choose to help you can and cannot do and what their responsibilities are
- What happens after you have made a decision-making assistance agreement
- Steps for completing the decision-making assistance agreement application
- A step-by-step guide to using our online portal MyDSS to make a decision-making assistance agreement
- Click on this link to bring you to sample forms for making decision support arrangements and or making a complaint.