Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the witnesses for coming and for all you do for all the children and families throughout your local communities. You are a model for parents groups across the country. As a State, we need to support and replicate what you are doing across the whole country. We need to support you financially as well for putting in a significant amount of your time to highlight the needs of our kids. I will give a personal commitment and I can speak for all the members of the committee also. This is a committee we wanted to set up because we wanted to make a change. The commitment is there from the leaders of the three Government parties to set up this committee. We want to put forward proposals next March when we will lay a report before both Houses that is going to make changes. Some changes have started to be made as a result of this committee being in place and issues have been highlighted in the national press. The will is there. I firmly believe action will be taken. I know that across all parties, we want to make a difference. We want to see changes made for your children and for my son. I have a young child who was diagnosed with autism and when Ms Jones was speaking earlier, I could remember when we were told the news as a family. I am very positive for his future and it is my job as a parent to work to make sure he gets the services, the intervention and the help to be what he can be. I give that commitment that we will work as a committee to make sure changes are made. We will not accept the situation as it is. The HSE needs to step up to the mark and make the changes and put the staff and levels in place for services our children are entitled to.

Your contributions will assist us in writing our final report. At the first meeting of this committee after it was established, we decided to meet parents and get the lived experience. We will formulate our proposals based on the lived experience of what is needed for our children. I thank you all sincerely.

As there are no other matters members wish to raise, that concludes our business for today. The committee's next public meeting will take place on Thursday, 29 September 2022 and will be a joint meeting with the Joint Committee on Disability Matters at which we will discuss accessibility in the built environment, communications and information with a number of groups.