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

It gives me great pleasure to second this Bill on behalf of the Labour Party. I commend my colleague, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, on speaking so passionately in proposing it. He has fought so hard for so long on the rights of children with autism in education. As he said, we are very glad to be joined today in the Public Gallery by many parents who have spent so long fighting for the rights of their children. I thank them very much for engaging with us. We appreciated the opportunity to learn from and speak to them this morning, especially parents in my constituency from the Involve Autism Dublin 6 and Dublin 6W group and the neurodiversity Dublin 4 group, in addition to parents from Clondalkin Autism Parents Support Network, Families Unite for Services and Support and Dublin 12. We are also glad to be joined by members of Inclusion Ireland and AsIAm. We are conscious there are advocacy groups, parents and individuals who have had to give up much of their time and, in many cases, paid work, to campaign and fight so hard for basic services and basic provision for their children.

This morning we heard some very harrowing stories and experiences of parents. We heard about the frustration, as Deputy Ó Ríordáin said, and the exhaustion parents are experiencing. We heard the real fear and concern parents have at each one of the key points in their children's lives. These include the point at which they are due to go to primary school and may not be able to access appropriate places in their area, the point at which children move to secondary school where there is again a lack of available places in so many areas, and the point at which they age into adulthood at 18, when services are again lacking and concerns arise about adequacy and appropriateness of residential care and where, in fact, parents cannot access sufficient supports to keep children at home. We heard from parents who rightly want to see, as we all do, the potential of their children fully realised in education, further education and training, and in the workplace. There are some very disturbing statistics on the high levels of unemployment and low levels of jobs being taken up and being available to those with autism. It is not just children with autism. We are talking about adults with autism and children and adults with other additional needs.

For their sake, and the sake of families and households everywhere, we ask for change. We ask the Government not just to accept our Bill - we are glad it is not being opposed on Second Stage - but to enable it to pass to the next Stage and into law. We want to see the Government, this State, and all of us collectively taking action to ensure a holistic strategy based on proper data, with proper planning for education, jobs, healthcare and other basic services to be available to those with autism and other needs, as we see in other states. We know of and we heard this morning about other countries and jurisdictions where services are available, sometimes in countries less wealthy than ours. On our neighbouring island, we see a better holistic approach being adopted, a national autism strategy, for example, and proper planning based on real and up-to-date data on levels of need across communities. That is what we are seeking in putting forward this legislation. As Deputy Ó Ríordáin said, we put this matter forward as a motion a year ago. We are now bringing it back as a Bill. We emphasise this is in response to the needs, desires and wishes of all those to whom we have spoken, whom we contact and whom we hear from every day.

I will share some testimonies with the Minister of State from frustrated and deeply distressed parents. They have given me permission to share their testimonies on how their children with autism and other needs are currently being let down by our State. One mother of two children, a boy and a girl, who contacted me said:

I am waiting 15 months so far for speech and language therapy for my four-year-old son. My little girl has also now received a diagnosis. Services are a nightmare. I have contacted 18 schools for my son for this coming September – nothing. I now know that I need to find a place for my little girl too. I am so scared.

Another mother who contacted me said her 16-year-old has been without a suitable school place since she was in primary school. Her family was initially forced to accept an inappropriate place as that was all that was available and they now feel they have fallen off the radar. Another mother of a four-year-old girl contacted me to say her child's diagnosis was deemed “not complex enough” for the local children’s disability network team but too complex for other types of support. As a result, she is receiving barely any support at all.

I have been contacted by many others, not just parents of children with autism but those who have children with other needs, who again lack sufficient access to services. One distressed mother whose three-year-old was referred to children’s disability services due to developmental delays described the “hell” she went through with the services since then and how she and her family are coping with a child who sleeps less than four hours every night, who has serious self-injury and safety concerns, and who had to have her head glued after headbutting herself so hard her hair clip pierced her skin. That family has spent their savings procuring private interventions to ensure they can get supports for their child.

These are the testimonies, the real stories and experiences we are all hearing across our constituencies. The figures are not clear, but we understand that more than 200 children may be without a school place this September. According to a damning report published by Ombudsman for Children, in excess of 15,000 children and young people are forced to leave their communities to access education outside of their area because there is nothing available in their catchment. In my constituency, there are serious issues in Dublin 6, Dublin 6W and Dublin 4. Parents in Dublin 12, Dublin 15 and Clondalkin have also told us of their issues with getting appropriate school places.

We understand there is immense frustration and that more needs to be done to ensure school places and other supports are available. Where school places are available, they must include access to the other services often needed. Often a complex range of services is required. Other supports, such as occupational therapy and speech and language therapy, need to be provided, ideally in a local setting. I know the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, are very aware of the level of need. We are all aware of the level of need. We want to see measures taken by Government to address that. Last April, Labour Party Deputies stood in this House and debated our motion to introduce a national autism empowerment strategy. The Government committed to taking action within a year. We accepted that response. Indeed, we have left it for longer than a year. More than a year has past since April 2021 and, regrettably, we are still hearing the same experiences and frustrations being expressed to us. Our headlines, even in the past week, continue to be dominated by stories of how many children with autism are not able to access places. The Ombudsman for Children, in his damning report, has highlighted the failures in provision.

We are asking the Government to state that a difference will be made and to commit to making a difference where it counts. We are asking for holistic strategies and the systems that work elsewhere in other countries to be introduced here. We also ask for responsibility to be taken. One of the big challenges many of us face in addressing constituents' concerns and those expressed to us by families is establishing who will take responsibility for different issues that arise. That may involve seeking an early assessment for a child, or providing sensory-friendly rooms for adults in public buildings and for children in schools. I can think of one school in my constituency that has been pushing for the provision of adequate bathroom facilities to accommodate children who require particular support from special needs assistants, SNAs, It may be that basic facilities are required, such as the provision of extra space in bathrooms for SNAs. I pay tribute to the wonderful SNAs. Indeed, we have heard from many of them on this issue. There is a difficulty at a practical level in getting these supports and knowing who to approach for them.

Our Bill proposes the adoption of a long-term strategy. That is essential. We also highlight the need for short-term and immediate intervention and action now. We know the Government has committed to some actions, but we need to see them speeded up and improved upon. We were here a year ago, proposing a constructive means to address the real difficulties, hardship and frustrations expressed by many to us. I reiterate to our guests in the Gallery the Labour Party's commitment to staying the course in this campaign. I know they will not give up. We will not give up either. We will continue to press from opposition, but we want to work constructively with Government to see that real and effective measures and strategies are introduced that will deliver real and necessary change to ensure children and adults with autism and other needs are enabled and supported to realise their full potential in society. Otherwise, our society is not inclusive and equal. We want to change that. That is why we are here today.

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