25% increase in demand for Independent Advocacy
Sage Advocacy reaches 1,050 Court Reports by end of 2025 and renews call for Independent Assisted Decision-Making (ADM) Stakeholder Forum
Sage Advocacy today reported a 25% increase in demand for services launching its 2025 Annual Report Independent Advocacy: An Idea Whose Time has Come at its Annual National Team ‘Summer School’ meeting.
The National Advocacy Service, supporting Older People and Survivors of Institutional Abuse, welcomed all 83 staff who travelled the length and breadth of Ireland to gather at the Ashling Hotel, Dublin.
Sage Advocacy staff, whose dedication form the pulse of the organisation, provided information, support and advocacy services to more than 12,600 people through cases & queries in 2025, demonstrating the growing demand for its services. That is the equivalent of supporting one person every 40 minutes, 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.
Demand for advocacy support increased by 25%[1] in 2025, the highest ever annual rise recorded at Sage Advocacy. The five most common issues presented were legal matters, financial concerns, acute hospital-related issues, a desire to move residence and planning for the future.
Sage Advocacy Chair Vice Admiral Mark Mellett said: “Sage is increasingly recognised as more than the national advocacy service for older people and survivors of institutional abuse, playing a vital role across health, social care, legal, financial and human rights practice in Ireland.
“The growing recognition reflects the trust placed in us by those who seek support, refer others, shape professional practice, uphold rights through the Courts, and share deeply personal experiences. Trust and commitment continue to drive our work despite ongoing organisational, funding and policy challenges. There is a growing awareness that independent advocacy is a practice whose time has come.”
Sage Advocacy experienced its largest increase in demand to date for support relating to Assisted Decision-Making (ADM), rising by 142% compared to 2024[2] and is seen as the ‘go to’ service for providing support to ensure the voice of the person is heard before the Circuit Court in ADM matters.
By the end of 2025, Sage had submitted 1,050 reports to Circuit Courts nationwide since the commencement of the legislative reform in April 2023. Based on the number of orders made by the Courts, it is estimated that Sage provided advocacy support in over half[3] of all applications for the appointment of Decision-Making Representatives[4] before the Circuit Court.
The importance of independent advocacy in relation to Assisted Decision-Making was highlighted in Sage Advocacy’s Voice Matters[5] report launched in May 2025. Demand for advocacy support in this area continues to grow with requests often coming from healthcare settings, social care agencies and Circuit Courts across the country.
Sage Advocacy Legal Support Unit Lead Martina Larkin said: “Supporting people to express their voice, will and preferences is at the heart of Assisted Decision-Making. Sage Advocacy helps ensure those views are independently heard, in line with our core mission: Nothing about you / Without you”.
Sage Advocacy has also been calling for the establishment of an independent ADM stakeholder forum since November 2023 to support the effective implementation of these legal changes.
CEO Bibiana Savin said: “Advocacy case closures rose from 2,753 in 2024 to 3,411 in 2025, a 24% increase and the highest level in the service’s history. Despite this growth, demand continues to outpace capacity. Cases are increasingly complex, often involving multiple, overlapping issues relating to health, housing, safeguarding, victims of crime, financial control and legal processes, requiring coordination across numerous agencies. Sage Advocates provide continuity across all areas including hospitals, nursing homes, social services, financial institutions and legal actors, ensuring the person’s voice, wishes and rights are heard and respected.”
Sage Advocacy works to achieve a variety of outcomes through its advocacy work. From supporting people to return home or avoid unnecessary institutional care, to safeguarding against financial abuse or coercion, enabling their participation in legal and care decisions, supporting them through transitions between care settings, and resolving disputes without escalation to formal legal processes, the focus is always the same: ensuring that the person is the centre of decision making, regardless of the level of support they need.
[1] 3,145 in 2024 rising to 3,923 in 2025
[2] 228 in 2024 to 552 in 2025
[3] The Decision Support Service, which is the statutory body established to register, monitor and supervise all decision support arrangements under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015, showed that it had registered 1,901 Decision-Making Representation Orders by the end of 2025. https://www.decisionsupportservice.ie/decision-support-arrangement-statistics
[4] A Decision-Making Representative is a person or persons appointed by the Court as the most intensive type of decision-making support under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015.
[5] Voice Matters Report, Sage Advocacy. 2025. https://sageadvocacy.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Voice-Matters-MAY-2025.pdf