Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, I thank Deputies Connolly and Ó Cuív for raising the issue of funding for Galway Autism Partnership, GAP. The Minister of State sends his apologies. He wanted to be here but with the way things went today, he could not make it so I will give the reply on his behalf.

The Galway Autism Partnership, which was established in 2011, provides a range of activities and supports for children and young adults with autism spectrum disorder in the Galway area. The organisation is actively involved in peer and family support, providing information and advocacy, creating opportunities for social engagement as well as participation in education and training. The partnership provides talks on autism and support services for siblings and parents of children and young adults with autism spectrum disorder. They certainly do great and valuable work that is endorsed by Deputies Connolly and Ó Cuív.

The HSE recognises the important support that Galway Autism Partnership provides to people with autism and to their families and loved ones. While the HSE does not provide core funding to the partnership, the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, understands that in 2017, it was awarded €5,000 in HSE national lottery funding for the facilitation of summer camps for children aged three to 18 years of age living with autism. In 2018 it received funding of €8,800, including €5,000 through the national lottery small grants scheme, which is administered through the HSE and the balance through a grant under section 39 of the Health Act 2004.

I understand that at the partnership’s request, a meeting was held recently with senior management from the HSE’s social care division to discuss the organisation’s funding requirements for next year and that a further meeting with the HSE, and including public representatives such as the Deputies, is scheduled for later this week. I believe this has been confirmed for tomorrow.

Deputies will be aware the HSE’s national service plan for 2019 has not yet been published. Pending publication of the plan, it would not be appropriate for the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, to comment on specific funding requests at this time. The Government remains committed to providing services and supports for people with disabilities, which will empower them to live independent lives, providing them with greater independence in accessing the services they choose and enhancing their ability to tailor the supports required to meet their needs and plan their lives.

Deputies may be aware that last week, my colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, published two reports on autism - a report on the prevalence of autism in Ireland carried out by the Department of Health, and a review by the HSE of the services available for people with autism. The review identities key priorities for implementation by HSE including: the establishment of a programme board tasked with implementing the recommendations in the report; the development of a programme of awareness raising; and guidance to clinicians and service development. The Minister, Deputy Harris, asked the HSE to proceed with the implementation of the recommendations in their report and this commitment will be reflected in the HSE national service plan for 2019 and will form part of an overall autism plan to be published next year.

Deputies Connolly and Ó Cuív have asked me to bring a message back to the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, which I certainly will. I will make sure he gets the information but he is well aware of the situation and of the meeting that is happening tomorrow. Hopefully, they will be able to enlighten the Deputies and GAP, with more information at that meeting.

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