Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the witnesses for their presentations. I will address the NDA first. The national disability inclusion strategy ended at the end of 2022 and that was after an extension of a year. It is somewhat concerning that there is no strategy in place. Is the NDA in any way concerned about that? Is there any indication of when a strategy will be put in place during this year? I know 2023 has been mentioned. I am just wondering why a gap has been left.

The implementation of the UNCRPD is so important and I do not feel it has been given the significance it needs. Things are improving but moving very slowly. Assessments of need and access to therapies have been raised with us continually by parents who are very concerned about the lack of access to assessments and therapies. Dr. Tamming mentioned that the disability Act should be reviewed. That is something we are hearing more and more about so maybe she could expand on that. We would like it reviewed so people would not just have a statutory right to an assessment of need but also access to interventions and therapies. There is a major shortage of professionals working for the HSE and in the teams. I am concerned about the children who need the assessments and interventions now. We are going to miss a generation of children if something is not done and this is not addressed. The Ombudsman for Children said this morning that he asked the HSE for a plan of action in 2021 on how it was going to address the situation and what improvements it would make year by year and he still has not received that. Do the witnesses have any input on that or a perspective on what could be done to address the needs of those children?

There are also issues around education, if you speak to parents of children with autism or another disability. Some autistic children attend mainstream schools with supports but many parents feel they need a special class or special school and they do not feel they can go into mainstream education. It is because the supports for their child are not provided in mainstream classes. That is the way to go. The UNCRPD says we should be looking towards an inclusive education system but the SNAs, resource teachers and supports are not there in mainstream education to allow that to happen. Are the witnesses hopeful, based on the review of the EPSEN Act, what the NCSE is putting forward and the ratification of the UNCRPD, that we will see a more inclusive education system in the coming years?

I thank Dr. Doherty for her presentation. It is quite alarming and has made me think about things in a different way. We hear all the time that the prevalence of autism has increased in recent years and we associate it with children. People say we did not have autism years ago but that is not true. Dr. Doherty made the point there that there must be lots of elderly people who are autistic and who have suffered for many years. The supports are not there for them. She spoke about life expectancy for autistic people being shorter. I have heard before that the suicide rate is high and that is obviously because of the lack of support for people and the lack of understanding and acceptance within our society. While that is improving, it has a long way to go. I understand now what Dr. Doherty is saying, that is, that autistic people maybe do not go to a doctor soon enough to get help for a serious condition. She says they go to accident and emergency departments but that has to be such a difficult decision as well. I do not even like going to the accident and emergency because it is so crowded at the moment. That has to be so difficult.

We often talk about more training for teachers dealing with autism but what we need is training across the board in all professions in dealing with autistic people. It is not just about awareness. It is about education and a growing acceptance. Does Dr. Doherty see things improving again? What more needs to be done to improve the outlook for autistic people? I recently had a conversation with an autistic woman who told me she was only diagnosed a year ago. She has encountered difficulties even dealing with the local council. The council staff feel she can advocate for herself and do not understand the difficulty she has even talking to them about applying for housing.