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

I thank Deputies Connolly and Ó Cuív for raising the issue and on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, I apologise for him not being here. I will certainly bring back the message. He acknowledges the hard work and dedication of the volunteers in the Galway Autism Partnership, who have worked diligently over the years to deliver important and vitally needed supports for people with autism and their families. There is the meeting tomorrow and I am sure there will be other meetings. The Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, would, obviously, like a positive outcome to that because we want to see that good work continue there. While the Minister of State is not in a position to comment on funding for specific organisations at this time, he wants to assure the Deputies that the Government and the HSE are committed to improving autism services and this work is well under way.

Deputy Ó Cuív referred to the HSE national service plan for 2019.

8 o’clock

The Deputy is right that it has not been published yet. It is December. That situation is quite normal because the budget was only announced in October. While the Deputy says it has to trickle down, much of the work that features in the HSE budget plan trickles up as well. It comes with recommendations and requests from each county and local area for the funding they require for each service. That is put into that national plan as well, so it works in two ways. There is consultation in the offing. I have a meeting tomorrow which is very timely because this plan will be finalised in the very near future. An important part of the HSE's future work on this will be the implementation of the recommendations of the HSE review group, which is a report that the Minister, Deputy Harris, will have asked to be carried out and implemented over the last year. The Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, is particularly pleased that individuals with a lived experience of autism will take part in this process. Publication of the review report and the HSE's implementation of its recommendations over the coming year mark significant milestones in advancing services for people with autism in Ireland. I think we would all agree that the service is not where we would like it to be but we have to put a plan in place to get there and that is something the Minister, Deputy Harris, and the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, are driving. The services have not been there for a long time.

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