Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her response. There will always be a gap in all human affairs between rhetoric and reality; it is inevitable. What we have to work to is narrowing that gap as much as possible. I will be somewhat parochial for a moment. In December 2018, the Galway Autism Partnership, which provides a service to 200 families, appealed to all Oireachtas Members to make representations to the Department on its behalf. I understand that the unit, based in Athenry and serving Roscommon and Galway, had no service at all for people with autism for all of 2013. Its most recent report is from 2017 and it highlighted the fact that it receives no State funding and relies on extensive fundraising, donations from members of the public and corporate sponsorship.

I hope that can change. The Minister of State will not have the information to hand but I would be grateful if I could be reverted to on this issue. I raise this point because it highlights in another way the gap between the rhetoric of the State regarding autism supports and the reality on the ground. I accept that there is a commitment to the principle of subsidiarity at play, which is commendable. Parents and students, however, need the commitment at local level to be reciprocated at departmental level. The issue I raise referred to reduced timetables. It concerns how allocated resources are being used, but it links in with the issue of the allocation of resources in other situations. Both of these issues concern the need to narrow the gap between rhetoric and reality on the ground.