Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Nem for being so straight-talking in their view that the DSS will not be resourced. That is half the problem. We can have all the good legislation and best practice in the world but if we do not providing proper resourcing, there is an issue. In this instance, unfortunately, it is probably not absolutely shocking that this is the case.

A number of themes come across in the interactions we have had with a huge number of stakeholders. One of these is the idea that people need a structure and route map for life. It is the whole idea of universal design, which is not just about buildings, although it is about that, but also about every other aspect of life. I accept that we cannot offer perfection for every person because everybody is coming with a different set of bespoke needs. We look for reasonable accommodations to be made in respect of all services, including those provided by educational institutes and all the rest. We also want people to have all the necessary interventions to provide them with the skill sets and therapies that will allow them to be the best they can be within their lives. None of that is straightforward and the services are often not available.

We all know the issues in terms of the services that are not there. The witnesses have added weight to the argument in regard to an issue we all understand, which is the silo problem, including, for example, where children fall under primary care or under the children's disability network teams and then cannot access CAMHS. In fairness, the people affected, and their parents, are just looking for strategies to deal with particular sets of circumstances. We really need a system that allows for that and for a greater level of free flow. Whatever systems we have, we hope some of the promises that have been made here will rectify some of the problems as regards workforce planning - I do not think they will rectify all of them - such that we have a greater number of occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and psychologists into the future. As I have said before, if we get that right now, we will have a solution to some degree in four or five years' time.

We still have to get down to the real work as to what the best services that can be operated are. In fairness, many of the witnesses have done the thing that happens when the State does not offer services. People step in and put a service in place. Eventually, in the best-case scenario, the State will give some element of funding that offers a little sustainability. It means we have huge element of ad hocapproaches and best practice is not employed everywhere. On some level, that is a statement. People can comment on it. We know what we need. We need it as soon as possible. We need people to be provided with a route map. We have had previous discussions about working with autistic people on a plan for life, facilitating all the various transitions and basing services on the needs of the person.

Comorbidities are a huge issue people have to deal with. From my limited knowledge, as I stated earlier, ADHD seems to be a significant comorbidity. It severely increases the difficulties people face. We come back to two issues, namely the route map for assessment, no matter what age a person determines to come into the system and that there is not much point having an assessment if no service or necessary therapies are available. That is barely a question but perhaps the witnesses will comment.