Results 801-820 of 1,755 for speaker:Micheál Carrigy

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: I support my colleague, Senator Doherty, in her request about St. John’s Ambulance. People have complained to my office about not getting meter-read bills in recent months. I call on people to read their own meters and send in a proper reading because if the meters are not being read and the bills are being overestimated, then people will be charged at the higher rate. We know that...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: I want to support Senator Cummins and it is important that we do regular reviews of Project Ireland 2040. There are too many schemes within that which struggle to get off the ground due to funding or whatever it may be. If a quarterly check was done on it in these Houses, we would see more schemes progressing. Any of us who watched "Prime Time" last night were abhorred by what we saw,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Business of Joint Committee (7 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: Good morning everyone. I welcome you all to this public meeting of the Joint Committee on Autism. Before we start our business, I will read some formal notices. All those present in the room are asked to exercise personal responsibility to protect themselves and others from the risk of contracting Covid-19. I remind members of the constitutional requirement that members must be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Services and Supports Provided by the State for Autistic People: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: Today we resume our consideration of autism policy and the services and supports provided by the State for autistic people in particular. At our round-table discussion in the Seanad Chamber last Thursday, we heard directly from autistic people, from the parents of autistic children, and from autism representative groups about the difficulties autistic people are facing in everyday life in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Services and Supports Provided by the State for Autistic People: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: I thank Dr. Tamming and call on Dr. Mary Doherty to make her opening statement.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Services and Supports Provided by the State for Autistic People: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: I thank Dr. Doherty. We will now take questions from members.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Services and Supports Provided by the State for Autistic People: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: Dr. Doherty mentioned students losing a place on a course. Is that within the third level system here in Ireland?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Services and Supports Provided by the State for Autistic People: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: One thing that is coming to the fore at this committee, and definitely at this meeting, is the need to educate society across the board and across all professions. I see it myself as the father of a young autistic son. There are occasions where somebody might not be invited to a birthday party. A lot of that is because of a lack of knowledge of autism. There needs to be more education...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Services and Supports Provided by the State for Autistic People: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: Just to come back, I think we need to take the term "unit" out of the language we use. It is used in the Department and across society. I hate it myself.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Services and Supports Provided by the State for Autistic People: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: Whenever it is used making announcements in the media from the Department, I think it is not a unit, it is another classroom. That has to change. It should be looked on as just another classroom within the school. It is important that the Department would change that. I agree we need to set a standard across all schools with special classes. I do not think we have one at the minute. In...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Services and Supports Provided by the State for Autistic People: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: It has got lost.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Services and Supports Provided by the State for Autistic People: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: Senator Ardagh wished to make a contribution but Deputy Flaherty has just arrived.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Services and Supports Provided by the State for Autistic People: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: I thank Dr. Doherty. On the subject of training, I might make the witnesses aware that as a committee we have been pushing, and the Houses of the Oireachtas have agreed that Leinster House as a complex will be an autism-friendly government complex. As part of that, training is going to be rolled out to all 1,500 political and non-political staff across the campus. It is important that we,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Services and Supports Provided by the State for Autistic People: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: It is positive to know that trained professionals will be coming into the system later this year. That is all of our questions for today. I thank the guests sincerely for attending the meeting. Their attendance and comments have been extremely beneficial. Any other information or recommendations they feel would be beneficial to us as a committee can be sent to the clerk to the committee...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Services and Supports Provided by the State for Autistic People: Discussion (2 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: I welcome everyone here today. I thank the Leader of the Seanad, Senator Chambers, and the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, Senator Buttimer, in particular for allowing us to hold our meeting in this House. As the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad said, it is unusual but it is apt in the context of the work we are doing. Our guests, as parents and advocates, have the opportunity to come into a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Services and Supports Provided by the State for Autistic People: Discussion (2 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: I thank Mr. Whitmarsh. Next, I will call the Galway Autism Partnership.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Services and Supports Provided by the State for Autistic People: Discussion (2 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: Ms Parsons mentioned training. As part of the project here in Leinster House all 1,500 staff, both political and non-political, will be part of that training with AsIAm so there is a better understanding from all of us in the political circle on autism.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Services and Supports Provided by the State for Autistic People: Discussion (2 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: I agree. The Middletown Centre for Autism was before the committee a number of weeks ago. We also travelled up to Armagh ourselves. That organisation has the best practice with regard to training. It is my view, and I think it is shared, that that organisation should be rolling out the training across the country for both parents and those in our education system. That training needs to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Services and Supports Provided by the State for Autistic People: Discussion (2 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: I thank Ms Egan. Family resource centres were mentioned. It is an issue I am working on. The last time applications were open for new family resource centres around the country was in 2018, some five years ago now. At that time, there were more than 90 applications. Of those, 11 successful sites were selected. Tusla told me that my home town of Longford has been identified as a priority...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism: Services and Supports Provided by the State for Autistic People: Discussion (2 Mar 2023)

Micheál Carrigy: We are a priority, yet there is no sign of applications being open for us to put forward a case to seek a family resource centre, despite the fact we need one immediately because we do not have that resource in such a large town. Tusla needs to take that on board. It affects not only Longford. Family resource centres are needed in other areas around the country. Where there is such a...