Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Cathaoirleach allowing me to contribute, given that I was delayed at the meeting of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach, where we were carrying out scrutiny of the No Consent, No Sale Bill 2019 and trying to convince the Central Bank and the Department of Finance that mortgage holders need to be protected and that our economy and society need to be protected from vulture funds.

I commend the East Mayo Anglers' Association and Inland Fisheries Ireland on the wonderful facility that has been developed on the River Moy to allow people with disabilities to access the river and use it for fishing. I visited it last Friday and I encourage all Senators to do likewise if they are in County Mayo because it is a model of excellence, inclusion and everything else for such facilities. It has done an excellent job, on which I commend the committee and everyone involved.

Given that it is World Autism Day, I commend my colleagues, Deputies Funchion and Ó Caoláin, for the work they have done on the motion that will come before the Dáil tonight, and I thank all the families, particularly those in County Mayo, who contributed to making the motion what it is. I ask all colleagues to support its call for an all-party Oireachtas committee on autism to be set up in the immediate term and for the committee to be tasked with developing and publishing a comprehensive autism empowerment strategy within six months. It also calls for the committee to be mandated to hear directly from autistic people and their families. While I acknowledge Senator Reilly's Bill, which needs to be progressed through the Houses, without an autism strategy we will not tackle the issue of autism in the way in we need to.