Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the witnesses for coming in this morning and sharing their stories. I commend them on all the work they are doing to support their autistic children and autistic adults in their community. I have a question on financial supports which some witnesses mentioned. Does this all come through fundraising or do they get any Government support whatsoever? Are any grants available? I know they indicated that the HSE has not been forthcoming.

Some of the witnesses also mentioned that they had managed to engage therapists to offer interventions. We have heard from the HSE that it cannot find them in the community. How come they seem to be available? Is it just that they are not willing to work for the HSE because of various conditions? What is the witnesses' understanding of it?

I congratulate Ms Lowndes on the number of schools which have been opened in her locality and the pressure she applied to bring that about. When a special school or an autism class is opened are the staff who are put in adequately trained? We frequently say that we need more autism classes and need them in every school and in every community so that children do not have to travel miles to get to a suitable school. While that is correct, they are often opened without the proper planning and the proper resources being put in. Is that a major issue?

Because of the lack of assessment of children, they do not get the school place they deserve to get. As it could be years before they are properly assessed, does that delay mean they are not being put in the proper placement which does damage to them?

A number of witnesses spoke about proposals on the summer provision. I could not agree more. This is something that needs to be planned now for next year. We need to start the planning process now and put it in place from January onwards.

I thank Ms Jennings for the examples she provided from principals and people working in various services. They give an insight into what is required. Many schools are not given approval until May which is far too late. They may be using it as an excuse not to proceed with the summer provision. However, it is a problem that they are not told what funding is available until May or June which is too late. This process needs to start much earlier. It needs to ensure that the children with more complex needs are catered for first and not left on their own at home maybe with unsuitable home-based tuition if they are lucky enough to get a tutor.