Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 18 October 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism

Autism Policy and Health: Health Service Executive

Mr. Bernard O'Regan:

Ms O'Kelly spoke about integrated working a few minutes ago. That is a given in terms of the direction of travel and our vision. I am working with my counterparts in primary care and mental health. We are working together to try to put those pathways in place. Dr. Connon mentioned initiatives such as the national access policy and so on. They are part of the infrastructure to help drive that. We want to get to the place where there is a seamless experience for service users. We are aware of examples where supports are required, for example, for people going to college. It has happened in some cases and not others. There is that inconsistency. There is also a role for some of the supports that are provided through the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science as well, which can be part of it. The Deputy is right that sometimes a very small support can be hugely enabling for a person who is moving into third level education, or who just needs a bit of support to be able to remain there and get a degree. It is a priority for those people.

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