Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)

Unfortunately, identifying the cause of and finding the cure to autism still eludes the medical profession. In the meantime, however, the best approach is autism-specific education and early intervention in order that people with the disorder can live culturally, socially, economically and spiritually fulfilling lives. I welcome the Minister's recent pledge to invest €2 million in additional funding for early detection and treatment services over the next two years. I suggest that to ensure the effective utilisation of this investment, a national autism strategy be developed and implemented. In addition, a huge opportunity arises, in the context of Ireland's Presidency of the European Union in 2013, to make autism a European Union priority from a policy perspective. Many challenges exist at European Union level in respect of autism and Ireland's Presidency affords it a glorious opportunity to put this issue at the centre of its agenda for the Presidency. For too long, people with autism have been falling between the cracks of an overweight system and as a result, many people have led lives that were not as fulfilled as they could have been. This is no longer acceptable and a national strategy provided for by legislation would both transform services and would change attitudes across society. The Minister of State has demonstrated great bottle and passion for her briefs within the Department of Health and I believe this to be another area in which the right thing can be done for those who unfortunately suffer from this condition.

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