Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am talking to the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, about universal design in this regard. It also came up at the Joint Committee on Disability Matters, which it is building in as part and parcel of its piece also. Universal design is very important. The Senator referred to local authorities. I do not wish to bring up again the standard operating procedure, SOP, in the context of assessment, but different local authorities view disabilities on different levels. A particular local authority in the State, for example, did not view autism as a disability, so when families applied to the local authority it did not see autism or having a child with autistic needs on the housing list as a priority, or even take autism or intellectual disabilities into consideration from a space point of view. There is much work to be done there but I am totally open to it. I am aware that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is also very open to that.

On the issue of older children who age out from school-years services, we talk about the primary care system that is there. My Department is very much entwined with the role of primary care when it comes to assessment of needs and the delivery of services.