Eamon Scanlon (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister to the House for this important debate on autism. The issue must be addressed. Additional funding amounting to €643 million has been addressed to health-funded support services for people with disabilities since 1997. This includes an additional €25 million in current expenditure, which the Minister for Finance made available in 2004 budget for services for people with disabilities. Of the €25 million, €18 million is being used in 2004 to provide additional emergency placements and extra day-services, especially for school leavers with autism and intellectual disability and to enhance the health related support service for children. Additional revenue and capital funding of €388 million has been provided since 1997 for services for those with an intellectual disability or autism. This has provided 1,700 additional residential places which are based in the main in the community and new residential respite places that were developed in 1997 and 1998. Between 1999 and 2002, approximately 465 additional dedicated respite place have been provided. In addition, 2,950 new day places were also developed. Alternative placements and enhanced level of services for the persons with an intellectual disability or autism have also been funded for those who were in psychiatric hospitals or other inappropriate placements. The number of persons with intellectual disability or autism accommodated in psychiatric hospitals in May 2003 was 438, which is a reduction from the number of 970 in 1996.

The new accommodation provided includes community-based homes and a number of residential and day complexes. Since 1998, approximately €16 million has been invested to enhance the early intervention, pre-school and multidisciplinary support services for children with autism or intellectual disabilities. Between 1999 and 2002, the Department provided additional funding of €11.43 million to enable health boards to put in place a range of support services for persons with an intellectual disability or autism who present with major behavioural problems and therefore require a more intensive level of support. One of the major difficulties facing the health services in delivering support services to children and adults with disabilities is the shortage of certain professionals, such as speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and psychotherapists.

Significant progress has been achieved in boosting the number of therapy training places. Last year the Minister for Education and Science and the Minister for Health and Children announced 150 therapy training places in speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. There has also been a concerted overseas recruitment drive on behalf of all health boards, the introduction of a fast track working visa scheme for health and social care professionals and the streamlining of the procedures for the validation of overseas qualifications. The success of these measures is reflected in the increase in the number of speech and language therapists and occupational therapists employed by the public health services since 1997. There has been a 100% increase in the number of occupational therapists and a 71% increase in the number of speech and language therapists.

While the statistics and figures are good and the Government is doing the best it can in a difficult situation, there are great demands on the parents of autistic children, of whom I know a number, particularly if they have other children. I wish to mention One to One, a group of parents in Sligo. This group has made me aware of its existence, particularly over the past two to three months. There is no classroom in mainstream education in County Sligo for children with autism. That is hard to believe in this day and age. One parent travels to County Mayo, a 100 mile round trip, twice a day with a child so that he can have an education or a chance of education.

I am glad to say the Department of Education and Science has been working on this matter and has identified two schools which are prepared to provide a classroom for the teaching of children with autism. This project is at an advanced stage and the North Western Health Board has signed up to the proposal to provide speech and language therapists, psychologists and whatever back-up service is needed in the classroom. I ask the Minister of State to speed up this project to ensure there is a school to which these parents can send their children next September because that is their main concern.

As a member of the North Western Health Board, I attended a conference on autism at which I listened with interest to a speaker who was a successful businessman. I met him afterwards and we spoke about autism, the different problems and so on. I told him he had a great knowledge of the problems associated with autism and he told me he was autistic. I could not believe it. The Government should do everything it can to ensure every child with autism gets the best chance possible to improve and educate himself or herself and, I hope, to lead a normal life.