Phil Prendergast (Labour)

I wish to raise a very serious issue, namely, the fact there is an exclusion from the Health Research Board which is the database which covers research and disability services in Ireland. It is independent and there are details of 25,600 people on the national intellectual disability database and 29,500 people on the national physical and sensory disability database, which was established in 2002. People with autistic spectrum disorders are not included on the national physical and sensory disability database, however. A database of such information is needed. I suggest that a question should be included in the census so we can have an idea of exactly how many children in this country have been diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum. That would help us to organise the provision of services. The manner in which we are dealing with children with autism seems to be sporadic, from both a diagnostic and a management point of view. It differs in all parts of the country. We need to compile a comprehensive plan setting out how we will deal with these children. We should know exactly how many of them there are. The paediatric and education services should work together to establish how many children we are dealing with and what kind of procedure we need to put in place for them.