Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a ghabháil leis an Teachta McCarthy as ucht an Bille Uathachais 2012 a thabhairt os ár gcomhair. Aontaím leis an mbéim a chur urlabhraithe an Fhreasúra ar idirghabháil luath, nó early intervention. Cháin an Teachta McLellan an t-iar-Rialtas Fhianna Fáil as an méid a dhein siad, nó nár dhein, chun cabhrú le daoine faoi mhíchumas - go háirithe daltaí faoi mhíchumas. Chun an fhírinne a rá, afách, thóg an Rialtas sin ionaid uathachais - ASD units - in Áth Leathan in iarthar an Chláir, i gCill Rois agus in Eidhneach i dtuaisceart an Chláir.

In fairness to the previous government, they also had an ASD unit built in Broadford to serve the pupils of east Clare. What was clearly lacking for children with autism, however, was a unit in west Clare. There were units in Inagh and Kilrush, but once children left primary school they had to travel to Ennis to receive an education commensurate to their needs. In many instances, that involved a 70-mile round trip by taxi. I am pleased to say that the lack of such services for west Clare is being addressed by the Government with the construction of a specific ASD unit in Spanish Point. That will facilitate pupils from across west Clare to complement what was already in place at the time of the last election. Expenditure to the tune of €240,000 was initially sanctioned for it and that amount has now been increased to €500,000. I appreciate that might not be fully sufficient, given the need to ensure that a unit is state-of-the-art. In addition, it must be fully integrated so that we do not have a ghettoisation of children with autism within a secondary school They should be able to participate as fully as possible in a school community.

Notwithstanding what Opposition Members have claimed, there is no difference of approach between the two parties in Government on this issue. The Minister, Deputy Quinn, happens to hold the education portfolio and in that regard advances are being made to provide facilities and services for children with autism. The Minister is requesting that the services available to special needs children be re-examined for the first time in a considerable period.

Having addressed the needs of children, we now need to ensure that when they come through our primary and secondary schools, and the ASD units, they will not fall off the cliff. This Bill is about ensuring the provision of services which will continue into adulthood and that a strategy is developed to provide for that.

In particular, I commend section 3(1)(b) which states: "[T]he strategy shall outline how the needs of adults with autism can be met by service providers in terms of accessibility to services, employment and social inclusion;". Deputy Finian McGrath referred to the charity syndrome which seems to pervade much of the Irish social system. The solution up to now - not by the last government, but by governments over the years - has been to throw money at a problem and the more money one can throw at it, the more one can salve one's conscience. In reality, however, the State was doing nothing and was not empowering such people. We must move away from throwing money at the problem because we do not have the financial wherewithal to do so. However, we can concentrate on empowering people and bringing about strategies so that State agencies are geared to vindicating people's rights to participate in the workforce, for their children to receive an education, and for the right to lead a meaningful life as a member of a community.

A long time ago, we moved away from hospitalising and institutionalising people, albeit not nearly as quickly as we should have done. Now people are no longer institutionalised but neither are they being facilitated to participate fully in society. Therefore we need to take the next step, which is what the Bill is about. It concerns the strategies that will arise from the legislation and for that reason I warmly congratulate Deputy McCarthy. I welcome the Minister's response and commend the Bill to the House.

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