Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank People Before Profit-Solidarity for bringing this motion forward. I listened to a lot of the speakers and the opening statement of the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton. Last year, in June 2023, the autism committee published a final report with 109 recommendations. The blueprint for success is there. There are 87 more of those recommendations to be implemented. They deal with everything from school transport to respite care to summer provision. You name it, it is there. The blueprint has been done by an autism committee made up of all parties and none. I recommend the Government looks at that. That is the blueprint.

I am not even going to touch on the issue of the assessments of need because it absolutely disgusts me. What the HSE has done to get through the loopholes is absolutely sickening and it should be ashamed of itself.

The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, mentioned planning and advance planning and so on. We all have a constituency dashboard. We have all the information every time a census comes out. I can go to the webpage for my constituency in east Cork and look up Ballyhooly or Ballinacurra to find out how many children have autism and what their age groups are. You can forward plan for five, ten or 15 years. Deputy Tully mentioned it a while ago; it is known when they went to baby school and primary school. That is setting out the charter already. I hate when we have to talk about the lack of services for people. Those who are the most vulnerable are the ones who are being let down the most. Families are absolutely stressed off the head.

School transport and disability transport has been an utter shameful disgrace again this year. I am black and blue from raising it since 2016. I congratulate the party for bringing this motion forward.

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