Maria Corrigan (Fianna Fail)

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this important matter.

There is currently a significant information deficit regarding the number of people who have been diagnosed with autism or as being on the autistic spectrum disorder. A group has proposed that the most cost-effective way of capturing the national statistics for autism and ASD within the country would be the inclusion of a question to this effect on the 2011 census. I ask if the Minister of State could indicate if this is a matter that could be considered and what would need to be done to bring this about.

There has been increasing awareness of autism as a disorder. It is only in recent times that the ability to diagnose it has become fine tuned. However, there are no national statistics on the disorder. Autism and autistic spectrum disorder has not been captured through the use of the intellectual disability database although this database is being amended to allow a capture of the national statistics in the area of physical and sensory disability. We need to keep in mind that the database will still only capture those people who are accessing services and have agreed to allow their details to be included in the database.

The lack of accurate statistics regarding the number of people with autism or who present on the autistic spectrum is a serious challenge in the area of service planning and provision and future demand for funding. I ask that the census of 2011 be used to capture the national statistics. This would present a very valuable tool for planning services and also provide an accurate picture of the profile of autism within Ireland in 2011.