Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Like my colleagues, I commend the council on the work that has been done in the library sector in Limerick. I am sure it is something that could be easily replicated across the country.

I have a number of questions on the housing end of things. I have been approached by some autistic adults who have applied for social housing and have been accepted as they meet the other conditions, and they receive the housing assistance payment, HAP. They submitted a HMD 1 form and it was rejected; they submitted it again and it was rejected again. In fact, they were actually questioned on how their potential meltdown might affect their neighbours, instead of looking at it the other way, given the actions of the neighbours might bring on a meltdown for an autistic person. An autistic person will only have a meltdown if they are influenced or affected by what is happening around them in society. Do the witnesses feel there is enough understanding of autism in housing departments within local authorities? Just because autistic adults can advocate for themselves does not mean that every kind of housing will suit them. Only specific types of housing will suit.

The other issue is the grant for sensory rooms. The witnesses indicated that some people apply for a sensory room by means of the disabled persons grant system, but we know that is oversubscribed and that there is not sufficient funding for those grants. Is there an opportunity to look at a specific grant for which someone could apply should they need to add a room to their house? I mentioned earlier that I was speaking to a couple yesterday who have seven children, six of whom have sensory issues. They need more space in their home and they are looking at the grants. The local authority is saying that they can apply for the disabled persons grant but we know there is a huge waiting list for those and that could take years. I acknowledge that in circumstances where people with an autistic child are applying for housing, the local authority will sometimes state that the family needs an additional room to act as a sensory room and will build that into the new allocations. However, many autistic adults are single and their needs are not being taken into account and not being recognised in regard to grants for sensory rooms.