Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to raise this critically important and urgent issue. If a society is measured by how well it looks after the most vulnerable, and if there is to be a degree of compassion in our country so that we can deliver a fair society, we must bring about dramatic improvements in this area. The waiting times for an assessment for autism in Cork are a disgrace and a scandal. The HSE has given me the latest waiting times and the figure for St. Joseph's Foundation is 18 months, for the Cope Foundation it is 25 months and for the Brothers of Charity it is 28 months. It is not the fault of the service providers in question as they can only do what they can with the resources they are given.

I recently raised an individual case of a young girl who is just short of three years of age. She joined the list in January 2018 and she has been told she is likely to get her assessment after 28 months, in May 2020. The lack of a public diagnosis can have very serious implications. Where is the early intervention for children who are facing these waiting lists? Some schools in Cork have a policy whereby they do not accept a child on the waiting list to attend the special school, or a unit in the school, in the absence of a public diagnosis. Some parents pay for a private assessment to be done and can thereby access domiciliary care, home tuition and the incapacitated child tax credit. Not everyone can afford a private assessment, but even if they can, many children cannot access appropriate education without a public assessment and diagnosis.

This is a priority and the way these children and their families are being treated is a scandal. I hope there will be a radical intervention to make a tangible difference.

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