I thank all of the Deputies for their contributions this evening in what is an important debate. Deputy Martin Kenny mentioned reports being left on the shelf. One commitment I have given, as have the members of the committee, which is why we have an all-party parliamentary group on autism, is that so long as all of us are in these Houses the report will not sit on a shelf. I have to work towards it but I want to stay here to make sure this is fully implemented. It needs to happen.

I want to put on record my thanks to the Minister of State. She is passionate in this area and I know she will leave no stone unturned in ensuring the best services possible that the State can give will be given. I give a commitment to work with her and to support her on this. I thank her for the work she has done to date.

The Minister of State mentioned one-stop shops. I look forward to the pilot model being rolled out in 2024. Ultimately, in the years to come, I look forward to it becoming far more widespread throughout the country. It is important for parents. I am one of those parents and when you are told initially it is gut-wrenching. We did not know where to go or where to get information. Luckily we now have the advice line, which is funded through AsIAm. It is important that we have a place for parents and families to go to get the support that the child needs and that parents need.

I look forward to the day when every child in every family will have assistive technology devices. I know they can work and they can help a child with their speech. It is important that it is budgeted for in 2025 and that we see far more of them made available.

The Minister of State mentioned the significant number of special classes, with 1,300 special classes and seven special schools. The transition from primary school to secondary school is an issue and we need to identify more places in post-primary schools.

I support Deputy Troy on having all-round services, rather than having just two a month as there is in Muiríosa in Mullingar. I highlight the respite services in Longford. I know the Minister of State has put funding in place for them but they are not in place as of yet. I ask that this be implemented immediately. I know the money was made available by the Minister of State and she visited us in Longford. I thank her for this and I want to highlight that these services need to be put in place immediately.

We met three weeks ago as a group to discuss the draft strategy. We found that a significant number of the report's recommendations were not contained in the initial draft. We have made a very short submission to the Department on this. It supports the submission made by AsIAm with regard to all of the recommendations made in the report being considered. The all-party committee has made a submission supporting the submission that AsIAm has made. It needs to be taken on board for the final draft of the report and I look forward to seeing it in early April.

SET has been mentioned, and has been very topical in recent weeks. I met the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, on this to express concerns. An appeal mechanism is being put in place for schools for September if they feel they have a shortage of hours. We need to make sure the funding is in place for the hours required for those appeals that are successful. We do not want a situation where a school knows in September but has to wait until January. The funding for these hours needs to be put in place and the commitment needs to be given now by the Government to make sure the funding is in place.

I am grateful to the other members of the committee. Deputies Buckley and Tully and everyone mentioned that we work very well together. We put in a significant amount of work. We had 26 public session meetings and more than 30 private session meetings. We also had a number of trips, including to the Middletown Centre for Autism and Ballyowen Meadows primary school in Dublin. Last October Senator Wall, Deputies Tully and Buckley and I visited the health minister in Scotland and Scottish Autism. This is where we met the group of young advocates on the Lived Experience Advisory Panel, who are involved in drafting the legislation for Scotland. The Minister of State mentioned this and it is key. She met with the youth group in AsIAm. We need to work with young people here to make sure they are inputting into the policies we make in the years ahead.

I thank the witnesses who contributed greatly to the report and all of the organisations that support the autistic community with passion and commitment in what are difficult challenges and difficult circumstances for many people. On the day of the debate in the Seanad, which was mentioned by a number of people this evening, a very powerful statement was set out in these Houses. To have that debate in one of the Chambers of the Oireachtas gave people an opportunity to speak and advocate on behalf of the autistic community. It was very powerful. It is something that all of us will remember for the rest of our lives.

It was a privilege for me to work so closely with the community on the report. I am grateful for the continuing co-operation of those people in the community and the organisations. I mentioned Adam, Michael and Niamh, who are here. I look forward to working with them and supporting them as they continue to advocate on behalf of the autistic community.

On my behalf and on behalf of the all-party joint committee, I thank the community and its supporters for their resilience, their patience and their efforts to promote inclusion of their society. I support Deputy Tully's call on the Government to take on board the report in its entirety, to implement it as part of the autism innovation strategy and to legislate for that strategy in order that regardless of what government is in place in the years ahead, it is a rolling report to be reviewed every three years whereby the Minister of the day will come to both Houses of the Oireachtas to update the Members on behalf of the people.

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