Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome everybody in the Chamber and the Public Gallery. Often it is quite difficult for people with autistic children or autistic adults to look after to get away so it is great to see so many people here. I thank Deputies Funchion and Ó Caoláin for bringing forward this motion, which is incredibly important and long overdue. Many of us have met stakeholders since we were elected. This is a progression of what we were trying to do. There is not a single one of us who has not experienced people coming to his or her constituency clinics in a desperate state whether it is about looking for a school place for their child, services or assessments. The situation, which involves children waiting, is criminal. The Government is obliged to see them within a specific timeframe but it does not do so. It is a scandal. I do not have to tell the Minister of State that early intervention is key for people with autism. I know that given the right support, many people with autism can participate meaningfully and make a valuable contribution to society due to a different way of seeing and understanding the world. When identified early, important supports can be put in place to ensure people are enabled to develop strategies that make their lives easier. Early interventions also aim to develop skills in communication, social interaction and imagination that underpin adaptive function to provide the person with the highest possible quality of life.

It is vital that adequate resources are in place for people with autism to ensure they get the support they need in the classroom and areas like speech and language therapy. Schools at all levels from private preschools up to secondary schools need to ensure they have the resources in place to make it as easy as possible for people with autism. These schools must ensure they are open and welcoming to people with autism and provide for their needs. I echo the comments of Deputy Eamon Ryan. It is not just Dublin 6 that has posh schools. They include schools all over the State and my own city is particularly bad in that regard. These schools want to be top of a league and exclude children with disabilities, children with autism and Traveller children. They should be ashamed of themselves. They do it non-stop. The Minister of State knows that the Minister for Education and Skills will not insist that local primary schools that are feeder schools for these secondary schools take these children. We will not stop that unless we look at that issue as well. The current range of services are not consistently available across the State. When people try to access them, it is really difficult.

The motion calls for the establishment of an all-party committee on autism with input from people with autism, which is crucial, and their families. I would particularly like the committee to look at the supports that need to be developed in our workplaces to give people with autism the full range of supports needed to enable them to participate in the workplace. I thank my colleagues for bringing forward this motion.

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