Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas le mo chomhghleacaithe, na Teachtaí Funchion agus Ó Caoláin fa choinne an rúin seo chun comhairle a éileamh ar an Rialtas. We have heard many stories from people recounting their experiences of children and adults with autism. We have heard much support for the motion. I also listened to the Minister of State and his comments on what the Government is doing and how it is supporting this motion. It was disingenuous, however, to stand up, deliver a ten-minute speech and leave out the two lines which indicate the position of the Government on this issue. The Government is not going to legislate and is not going to set up a committee. Children with autism are literal. When they hear the Government is supporting this motion, they expect it to follow through, establish the committee and legislate.

It is a terrible slight on them and their parents. We have heard about the slog, the difficulty, the challenges and the fighting required all of the time to get different services. We have also heard of the anxiety and worry waiting for an assessment and what the results will show, then follows the repeated fight for resources for therapies and access to all of the different supports that should be there to help. It is a case of fighting the system, however, rather than being comforted by it. One issue the Government has not acknowledged is that the current system is failing children in myriad ways. I refer to delays in assessment, the lack of supports available, the lack of educational supports and the lack of available places. All of that is failing children. The motion seeks something simple. It asks that we get together as legislators who want to see, recognise and value the unique way in which children and adults with autism see this world. Let us come together and develop a strategy and let us underpin it with legislation. The Minister of State should do the right thing and support the motion tabled by Deputies Funchion and Ó Caoláin. It deserves the support of all of us in this House.

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