Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

Has the Taoiseach assigned responsibility for children with autism to a Minister of State? This is a typical example where responsibility crosses Departments, especially in regard to the educational needs of children with autism. If he has not assigned responsibility, I ask him to do so as soon as possible. There are ongoing difficulties between the Departments of Education and Science and Health and Children in regard to back-up services, such as speech and other behavioural therapies. We have an opportunity to deal with this issue once and for all.

I recently tabled a parliamentary question asking if we could include a question in the next census asking if anyone in a household has autism in order that we know exactly what we are dealing with.

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