John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

I raise this matter in the context of the serious difficulties parents of autistic children in Kilkenny and my constituency generally have had in obtaining an assessment and discovering where on the autistic spectrum their children lie. As a result, they have had to go to the great expense of attending consultants in England and in Dublin. Consultants have come to visit the families of autistic children also. It is difficult enough for families to deal with these problems at home in the absence of support and assistance from the State without having to travel across or outside the country to obtain the assessments they need to determine where children should go to school or to receive the intervention they require. Needs can be particular to the child and the family concerned.

The degree of difficulty faced by these families is so great that they picketed the offices of the South Eastern Health Board some months ago to highlight their problems. Since then, they have received the same lack of response from the health board which they continually received previously. That is unacceptable. To take matters into their own hands, the parents in question have located a school building in Goresbridge in County Kilkenny. The structure of the building is sound.

At a meeting with officials from the Department of Education and Science seeking assistance, which I attended with Mr. Marc de Salvo, they were told a comprehensive response would be given within 30 days. To date, only some queries have been answered. Last week, they were informed that some moneys would be available but not for the development of the school.

While we are waiting on reports, families are suffering. It has been proven that autistic children become better at school and are at the point of entering mainstream education when assessment and intervention take place. There is an onus on the Department to be proactive in this matter and not for the information to be dragged from it. I noted at the Committee on Public Accounts that a suitable property in Myshall was passed from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to the Department of Health and Children. The South Eastern Health Board has admitted the property is too far from its operations to be of use. If funding is the problem, then the health board can sell this property, ring fence the proceeds for the proposed school at Goresbridge and immediately invest the money in the development proposed by the families.

The families have taken advice from all quarters on this matter. All that is needed is support from the Government and the South Eastern Health Board in order to carry out the assessments and define the supports and intervention for the children involved . The Department of Education and Science can then acknowledge that the building is sound for housing the New Horizons project in County Kilkenny. From there, it could satisfy the need for those dealing with this problem in their own time and homes.

During the meeting in Athlone with departmental officials, I acknowledged the difficulties and frustrations with bureaucracy faced by these families. Will the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science remove these obstacles and give the families encouragement rather than challenges? Will the health board dispose of the property so as to fund a proper special school for autistic children in Goresbridge?

See this speech in context