Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her opening statement. I was there at the launch of the funding for the national access plan for universities. It is very encouraging. My issue has always been around service delivery. It is there in the Minister of State's statement and she acknowledges up from that the challenges for delivery for children with autism in particular, and their parents are acute in my area. I am at the point where I do not know how to do back to parents so often have I raised their issue with the HSE and the Minister of State's office. I mean no disrespect to the Minister of State, I accept her bona fides and how hard she is working but some of the replies I get from the HSE are outrageous. I have raised this before. The Minister of State and I met on 6 April and I raised this directly with the HSE on 26 May at the Committee of Public Accounts. Today is 12 July. I have been raising some of these cases for two years. I refer to one case in particular. It is a young girl, who I will refer to by her initials A.S. This is an example of the standard of reply from the HSE. I received a letter back on 1 February 2022 from the HSE to say that A.S. had had her assessment of needs completed on 10 May 2021 and was subsequently referred to the HSE school age team on 20 May 2021. So I got back to her parents and said "That is great, isn't it?"

I was told by the parents that they had read my letter and were a bit confused, given that she had never been assessed by the HSE. I went back to the HSE to say it turned out that A.S. had not been assessed, because her parents said as much, and that I was pretty sure they knew what they were talking about and what the situation was. The HSE apologised and said that it was an error. I was told the HSE would come back to me with an update, but I am still waiting for it. That is just one case. I have brought these to different levels of attention. I have a pile of these cases on my desk and the Minister of State knows I have raised them with her directly. That is just by way of the standard.

I am an elected Member of Dáil Éireann. My fellow Members and I raise these cases time and again with the HSE. I cannot imagine how difficult it is to be the parent of an autistic child with acute needs. Parents have to navigate that on a day-to-day basis, try to support their children and, at the same time, has to navigate the HSE and try to get assessment of needs and delivery of services for their children.

I am beyond embarrassed at this point to go back to parents. I did not even tell them I was raising this today, because I am too embarrassed. Every time I have raised it during Questions on Policy and Legislation, at the Committee of Public Accounts or directly with the HSE, I go back to say I have raised it and I hope to get an outcome, but nothing ever happens. I am too embarrassed to tell them. It has been going on so long.

I am very much encouraged to hear about the meeting four weeks ago and that there will be some momentum now from the HSE, God between us and all harm. Let us hope there is, because delivery is needed. How many therapists will the momentum generate? What will the impact be on service delivery? That is all that matters.