Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister and thank the Leader for facilitating this debate on autism. The issue of autism was discussed previously in the House. In the light of some of the decisions made by Government over the past five to seven years, it is important to carefully examine on an ongoing basis the decisions that have been made and how they have been implemented on the ground. There is no doubt that great strides have been made in recent years in the delivery of services to people with general disabilities, including the autistic spectrum disorders.

The philosophy of the Government, which is welcomed on all sides, is that people with a disability should be given the opportunity to live as full a life as possible and to live with their family and as part of the community.

The Government has made great efforts to promote mainstreaming, particularly in respect of younger people and children. The mainstreaming of children with disabilities in the standard education process has had a major impact not only on those with a disability, but also on children who do not have a disability. It allows such children to integrate with people with a disability at an early stage and helps them to understand and accept that people with a disability are still people — that they are very much real people with real ambitions and goals in life, notwithstanding their disability. One of the strongest elements of mainstreaming has been that it has ensured that young people learn to live with others from an early age, regardless of other people's physical or mental condition. It helps all people to live in a harmonious environment and to progress so that children have the opportunity to live to their fullest extent and to achieve the goals they set for themselves, regardless of the ultimate aim.

The Minister of State, Deputy O'Malley, might be familiar with the life story of Mr. Stephen Shore, an American advocate for persons with autism. I wish to give a little background detail about his life. He was born in the 1960s and diagnosed with strong autistic tendencies at the age of two and a half. The preferred means of dealing with people with disabilities, particularly children with autism, at the time was to progress towards institutionalisation. It was recommended that Mr. Shore be institutionalised at the age of four. His parents intervened, thankfully, to ensure that did not happen. They believed that early intervention plays an important role in determining the ultimate outcome of the person's life. Mr. Shore is now in his 40s, married and employed in the education sector in the US. His view is that autism involves perceiving and processing information from the environment in a way that is somewhat different from others. It is important that we recognise that such people operate in a way that is different, rather than being some aberration. We have to accept that people with autism focus on different things because their sensory receptors are set differently. The mainstreaming programme assists students and people progressing to adulthood to develop a level of understanding.

I am aware that huge strides have been made, particularly in the health boards. The Department of Health and Children and the Department of Education and Science are involved in dealing with children. It is obvious that the Department of Education and Science has a huge input. It recently announced the appointment of 350 extra teachers, who will make a huge difference when they come on board at the start of the next school term in September. Although there have been advances in the health boards at local and regional levels, there are difficulties. I suppose there are always difficulties in terms of the Government's delivery of services.

Certain facilities and professional services are not as readily available in some parts of the country as they are in more built-up areas. I have experience of a carers group in the Loop Head area of my home county of Clare. Senator Daly and I have met representatives of the group on two occasions in recent weeks. They outlined their grave concerns and difficulties. One does not become aware of the scale of the problem until it is brought directly to one's attention. There are 14 people under the age of 14 with intellectual disabilities, and disability generally, in the Loop Head area. Nine of the people in question suffer from autism. The causes of autism have been debated and research in the US has suggested that there may be a genetic link. Other American research has suggested that there may be a clustering effect as a result of environmental problems, such as pollution. Perhaps the Minister of State will clarify whether the Department of Health and Children has done any work in that regard.

Loop Head is a beautiful and remote region. It is a considerable distance from large centres of population such as Ennis and Limerick. People living in the area have limited access to services that are available in densely populated areas. Some parents are not in a position to take their children 30, 40 or 50 miles to the places where these services are located. People working on the land, mothers working in the home and people caring for elderly relatives cannot bring their children to centres some distance away. There is a huge drive and commitment by parents to ensure that their children are given the best level of care at an early stage. There is a need for early intervention in cases of autism. Delays in the delivery of such services are a cause of concern to those parents who feel their children will not get the same opportunities that are available to people living in more populated areas.

The problem is not a budgetary one because, while in many cases we argue for greater funding for particular areas, in this case the funding has been made available by the Government. The difficulty is in trying to get speech and language and occupational therapists to work in isolated rural areas. Many of them want to work in urban areas and in the private sector. I compliment the Minister of State and his Department on the progressive strides that have been made, particularly in commitments to funding. There is a necessity now, however, to look below the surface in implementing the delivery of autism services. We should make vacancies for speech and language and occupational therapists more attractive to candidates. The Department is funding a number of college students who will come on stream in the next two or three years, but there is gap at present.

A vacancy for a therapist in west Clare has been advertised for some time but has not been taken up. That is a matter of concern because while funding for the position is available, unfortunately, there is no candidate ready to take the job. The Department or the health board should make the post more attractive by way of offering a greater financial reward. The authorities could also consider recruiting therapists outside the State from places such as New Zealand, which has been to the fore in training speech and language therapists for autism.

The provision of such services is important for rural communities. I have used the Loop Head peninsula as an example but I am sure there are other isolated communities around the country to which Senators will refer. Such communities should have the necessary facilities to ensure that local children will receive the early intervention they need and deserve, in a manner that does not disrupt family and community life.

I compliment the Minister of State and his Department on the delivery of an autism unit in Ruane school, which is close by. That unit has become a benchmark for the people of the Loop Head peninsula who are trying to ensure the delivery of a similar service. The peninsula carers' group is working with the health board on such a plan and I hope there will be a successful outcome. While I realise the Minister of State has been helpful in the past in this regard, I ask him to assist us in any way he can now. We must try to make vacancies more attractive to the professionals we need to employ, either by way of better remuneration or through the delivery of a mix of services. People working in the private sector do not want to take on the onerous tasks associated with working specifically on autism. That has been one of the great difficulties in resolving the staffing problem.