John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have raised this issue a number of times by way of Topical Issues and parliamentary questions. The State and the Government will be judged by how they treat the most marginalised and the weakest in society. We have here a scandal that is not being addressed adequately and efficiently.

I ask the Minister of State to look at SOS Kilkenny, a provider of services for people with intellectual disability and autism which has been underfunded to the tune of millions for some years. It has made a case to the Department and nothing has happened. There has been review after review. In the meantime, all of the families who have children suffering with autism are paying a heavy price because their lives are put on hold until such time as the services are provided.

I point also to the waiting lists for assessments. Children have been waiting for assessments for far too long. They are not being dealt with, and the promises and commitments given in this House are not being fulfilled. Families who have asked for assessment have been told they will wait for two years. Any child who requires an assessment for autism, ADHD and so on needs it as soon as possible. The services need to be put in place to deal with the issues that arise from those assessments and that is not happening. Telling a family they have to wait two to three years is outrageous. It is a scandal and we should be doing something far more positive, even if it means buying in expertise from outside the State.

There is a service in Northern Ireland which funded by the Government here and offers a range of services and expertise to those who are on the spectrum. I cannot understand why that service cannot be replicated here under this Government. We can fund it elsewhere with limited places but we cannot learn from it and expand on it. There is no respite and once the assessment has been completed, there are no services. The parents of non-verbal children in special schools are now being taught how they should deal with the issue. Families with a child with autism - there are families with more than one child with autism - are stretched enough catering for the day-to-day problems of their child without having imposed on them the need to educate their child. Parents who are not qualified professionals are attempting to assist non-verbal children. When is the State going to see the reality of this and intervene appropriately?

In the case of a family in Kilkenny where three children have autism, two of the children have some services, one child has not been assessed fully and another has no services at all. Why is that happening? Why is there not some sort form of common-sense approach that would deal with the three children, ease the burden on the family and assist them with all of the services required? I am asking the Minister of State a straightforward, common-sense question. I hope he will not respond with the usual statistics and big-picture stuff from the Department.

The Minister of State may have that on his file but I can tell him that on the ground, for those at the front line of services, it is simply not working and children are suffering.

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