Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As I said, I am taking this debate on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch. I will relay the concerns the Deputy raised to her. I understand she has been raising them for some time. I will repeat what I said. It is not satisfactory that Deputies are waiting an excessive period of time for information that should be available very quickly from the HSE which is an agency of the State. I hope we have moved some way towards addressing some of the concerns the Deputy has outlined. These are issues we all want to see addressed in our constituencies. I reassure her that the Government has an ongoing commitment to address the needs of all children with special needs, including those with autism. The particular issues she has raised relating to the autism diagnostic service in Waterford are being addressed by the HSE in Waterford and should be resolved in the near future, as I outlined.

I have some experience of the provision of services for young people with autism. For some time I served as a board member in my local ABA school and continue to work very closely with parents of children with autism. I am very familiar with the challenges them, those who teach in that sphere and those providing services. The Deputy is correct in pointing out that Deputy Michael McCarthy's Bill developed a very structured and strategic response to the challenges in autism service provision. In coming days I will establish with the Whip's office the status of the Bill and what the expectation is in getting it through the system. As the Deputy correctly pointed out, it was accepted on Second Stage. It should provide the House with some good policy indicators in terms of what we need to do in the future to provide the level of services to which children with autism are entitled.

We all know that early intervention is critical in allowing children with autism to realise their full potential. I have some experience in my constituency of dealing with the issue of, for example, the Department of Education and Skills or a school accepting a diagnosis from a qualified psychologist and the Department of Health or the HSE taking the opposite view, which I find bonkers. There needs to be consistency on the issue. However, that is a matter for another day. I will relay the Deputy's concerns to the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and we will establish the position on Deputy Michael McCarthy's Bill.

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