Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Dr. Doherty spoke about Oliver's law in the UK. Should we bring in similar legislation in Ireland? I have a three-year-old child with severe, level 3 autism, and I avoid taking trips to the doctor's or dentist's with him. If it is possible, I will choose to get him the drugs on the phone or from an online doctor. It becomes very difficult for the children. I have not really interacted with any professional, except perhaps speech and language therapists and the OTs, who understand autism and are able to engage properly with my son, and I presume that is the same for families throughout the country. Something like Oliver's law might be very useful in this country. I acknowledge Dr. Doherty stated she does not want anyone to be forced into undertaking additional training but so few professionals have the training to deal with children who have complex needs and are autistic that it might be necessary to make it mandatory. That is just my view on it.

I agree about the statistics. The lifespan of someone with severe autism is 35 to 40 years. I am glad Dr. Doherty sort of corrected those statistics and put her own slant on it to show we can be more positive. It was good to hear her talk about elderly people accessing care in nursing home settings. We need to talk about that and be a lot more ambitious for people.

I cannot see why GPs who have an interest in autism or who have the training should not be able to diagnose. They have the medical background, and in many cases, it is quite clear-cut. It would take a great deal of pressure off the system. This is not to say the HSE would not have to give services, but a lot of parents are accessing the diagnosis part just to get a place at the school, to get the domiciliary care allowance or the incapacitated child credit or to get the ancillary grants that are badly needed for a family to survive. If the GP were able to help with the administration part, obviously not giving the interventions, that would be helpful.

I thank all the witnesses for attending.