Ms Angela O'Neill:

I thank the Deputy for her questions. She mentioned CAMHS, NEPS and so on. Under the national access policy, we will set up an integrated children's services forum in each area. It will comprise primary care, social care, mental health services, the acute sectors if they are required, Tusla and many other stakeholders. It will cover decision-making and entail everyone looking at the needs of children and their families and how to work together to best meet those needs.

In respect of the autistic community, we have a service improvement board, which I chair. It comprises people with lived experience, parents, other family members, various clinicians and many other stakeholders from fields such as primary care, mental health and disability, as required. The board is examining matters such as awareness. It is important we educate people and make them aware of what autism is. People with a lived experience have a crucial part to play in that respect. We are also examining pathways for diagnosis and assessment. Recently, the Minister announced a knowledge hub and phone line. We are working closely with various colleagues in that regard.

The Deputy mentioned the progressing disability services, PDS, programme. Behavioural support is very much a part of that. When people work in interdisciplinary groups, they have access to many other disciplines. This is important and is the beauty of PDS - we share and have all of these colleagues helping one another in the best interests of the child and the family.