James Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State has become very fit since taking on responsibility for public health. I thank her for being here today. She was earlier discussing childhood obesity. It reminds me that as Minister for Health, I appointed a civil servant at principal officer level to cover children, health and education in respect of that issue.

I thank all the Senators for their positive contributions. It is a reflection of what we can achieve when we co-operate. I thank the Minister, Deputy Harris, for his very positive response and the Minister of State, Deputy Corcoran Kennedy, for coming in as well. It has been a long battle. While we are by no means finished yet, this Bill can give us the tools to get there. People have pointed out that it will be difficult and asked how we are going to do it. How does one eat an elephant? By taking one bite at a time. The first bite is passing this Bill and developing the strategy. We must not let perfectionism get in the way of what is good. Then we must fight like hell to make sure the strategy is implemented and resourced. In footballing parlance, tonight we can celebrate winning a match but it is still a long way to the cup final. We will all have to stay on top of it to make sure we get there.

Over 12,500 people have signed the petition and put their own thoughts in it. There is no doubt about the necessity and frustration that people feel. One person's contribution referred to "diagnose and dump". Temple Grandin wrote a book entitled Different ...Not Less. We are all different, and so are people with autism and ASD. They are not less. They have so much to give us. My good friend, Senator Buttimer, mentioned my son, Jamie, who is in the Visitors Gallery. We were told he was mentally handicapped and not to worry. He did not go to school until he was 11. Now he is making a major contribution to research, studying stem cell research and autism. Adam Harris is also in the Visitors Gallery. He has become a leading advocate for people with autism. Also here this evening is another young man with autism, Seán Molloy. Who knows what great things Seán is going to do in the future?

There is so much that these wonderful people have to offer us. We can learn so much from them. Even if they do not become leading lights in any area, they teach us so much about ourselves. When I was Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, I often said that to give is often more rewarding than to receive. Understanding what challenges others have to face in order to get by in a way that we take for granted is equally enriching. I appreciate the Minister of State waiting and will let her go lest we lose a vote.