Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In April 2019, Deputy Funchion moved a motion in this House calling for an autism empowerment strategy and the establishment of an autism committee. The motion received widespread party support at that time. A commitment was given to deliver an autism empowerment strategy for Ireland. The issues affecting autistic children and adults are long-standing and families, children and adults have been battling for years for their basic rights and entitlements. Children face lengthy waiting times for assessments, they struggle to locate appropriate school places and autistic adults face huge gaps in the provision of crucial services, particularly in regard to finding work, securing social welfare or living independently. This is totally unacceptable and it needs to change. A stand-alone autism committee would bring that change.

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