Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 5 is the most important and the success of the legislation depends on it. The cost of implementing it must be fully met by an increase in the overall budget for disability services. One cannot stretch the budget; it is already in crisis. I urge the Minister, Deputy Harris, to use the detailed legislation and plan for autism care to argue for the increase in funding for disability services overall.

The proposed section 5(4) states the Minister shall, not more than three years after the publication of the first strategy, prepare and cause to be published on the Internet a report that details progress made by each Department in contributing to the implementation of the strategy. That is very welcome. It is holding Departments to account and probably giving them a little push towards beginning to think about implementation in the areas in which they are involved, such as transport, education and housing, and on which action needs to be taken.