Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. The bottom line is that he decided to go off and announce that he was going to provide an additional €3 million in funding for autism services. He then decided to announce a review. One of his senior officials described the Minister's announcement in January 2012 as "news to me". Another said that it had come "out of the blue". When it was announced, his decision to carry out a review equally came out of the blue to many of the people providing services, including Dr. Kate Hartigan. Nobody denies that Dublin North deserves the resources and the allocation but what is critical is that priority was certainly given to the allocation north of the Liffey while services elsewhere are under huge stress and pressure. Children in any part of the country are entitled to equality and equity in accessing these services. Rather than carrying out reviews and stalling the process, the Minister should have ensured that the allocation that was made, granted and announced by him was supported and enhanced, as was the wish of Dr. Kate Hartigan and others, who felt this was particularly important for the development of services and equality throughout the country.

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