Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It has become clear, in particular in recent days that the optimal solution to the issue of the national maternity hospital for both the Opposition and the Government is that of full public ownership - freehold ownership, not the conditional ownership represented by leasehold, however long it may be. I ask the Taoiseach again to take into account the clear and overwhelming majority of those of us in the Opposition who wish to see the hospital built on publicly owned land, who are concerned to see €1 billion of State money going into the building of a hospital on what will not ultimately be State-owned land, on land that is going to be held on a conditional ownership basis for the duration of that leasehold. That is the issue on which we have been focusing in the Labour Party, but also all of us across so many Opposition parties. I again ask that that might be taken into account, in particular if the Government is not proposing to contest the motion tonight.

Could I also refer again to the context for the maternity hospital, and to the point so many of us have made in the debates in recent days and weeks, that for far too long the State has invested so much public money into the building of schools and hospitals on land and sites not owned by the State, but rather that are owned in many cases by religious orders or by their proxies or successor companies? That lack of State investment over many years has failed so many people, in particular women and children.

I wish to raise in particular an issue that was brought to light last night on RTÉ's "Prime Time" about the failure of the State to provide adequate services and supports for children with autism. We heard last night in particular about the challenges facing Gillian and Darren Milne, who have fought year after year for their twin sons, Ryan and Kyle, to get access to appropriate places in a special school. Last night was the second time in a number of years that their battle has been covered on "Prime Time".

The Taoiseach raised the case himself on Leaders' Questions nearly three years ago, in September 2019 and the then Taoiseach said the case of the Milne children was under consideration by the Minister for Education. The boys were then eight and now they are 11 and still awaiting an appropriate place. The parents are really struggling, as so many parents are. This is a huge issue across my constituency in Dublin Bay South. Miriam Kenny from Involve Autism was on "Morning Ireland" this morning speaking about the struggles so many parents in Dublin face. This is a countrywide issue and everywhere we go, we hear about the difficulties with accessing places for children with autism.

I am conscious that the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, did speak on the radio this morning about her new forecasting model, which will enable better long-term planning to ensure there will be adequate places available for children with autism. However, we have not seen any real indication of movement on that, nor did we hear any indication of the extent of the need, the number of children waiting on places. It is very welcome that the Minister of State has said she has had no option but to issue section 37A notices to schools and that she intends to follow up on that, but there is no indication as to when that will be done or how many places it will generate. I ask the Taoiseach for more clarity on what will be done for children in this position.

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