Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. Health-related supports and interventions for children with disabilities, including those with autism, are generally accessed, depending on the level of need, through primary care and specialist disability services. Information on waiting times for primary care and specialist disability services is not generally collected in terms of specific disabilities, such as autism.

While it is recognised that there are challenges in providing children with timely access to these services in the north Dublin area and elsewhere, the Government is committed to addressing this issue through the development of primary care and specialist disability services. An additional €20 million in funding has been allocated to strengthen primary care services and to support the recruitment of more than 264 prioritised front-line posts. Forty-nine of the posts have been allocated to the north Dublin area.

The HSE is also engaged in a major reorganisation of existing therapy resources into geographic-based teams for children with disability aged from birth to 18 years under the Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People programme. The reconfiguration programme is due to be fully implemented by the end of 2015 or early 2016. This will result in a more equitable service provision for all children with a disability, including those with autism, in the localities in which they reside. It aims to achieve a national, unified approach to delivering disability health services so that there is a clear pathway to services for all children, regardless of where they live, what school they attend or the natures of their disabilities. An additional €4 million was specifically allocated in 2014 to drive the implementation of the programme. This equates to approximately 80 therapist posts, 21 of which have been allocated to support the reorganisation of services in the north Dublin area and to address waiting lists. Recruitment of these posts is still under way. A further investment of €4 million is being made to support the roll-out of the programme in 2015.

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