Ms Noeleen Smith:

In regard to services it is worse than it was. I have two kids with autism, one is nine and one is ten, and I know from my experience that when they were first diagnosed there were services in place but for one reason or another they have not had services for the last five or six years.

On education, in Cavan we are okay at national school level. We spoke about the following matter on the way up in the car. A lot of funding is being put into autism classes at national school level but when it comes to secondary schools there is nothing in place. It is quite frightening to think about as my children are in second and fourth class. The boy in fourth class will be in mainstream education but I have no idea where my daughter in second class will go when she goes to secondary school. That is the case for a lot of parents in Cavan.