Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. I congratulate all my colleagues who worked incredibly hard on this report. Many other colleagues who will speak after me will congratulate Senator Micheál Carrigy on his work. He led the way, which is something he should be very proud of. As someone who was on the sidelines looking in, I am proud that this Oireachtas, in this term, has done such a report. Congratulations to Senator Carrigy.

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this discussion. Action on autism was a commitment in the programme for Government. I congratulate the Minister of State on her stellar work and huge commitment to this issue. On World Autism Awareness Day 2021, she announced the Government's intention to develop a national strategy on autism. It has to be said very clearly that the Minister of State and the Government remain very committed to improving the lives of autistic people. This commitment was underpinned recently by the launch of the autism innovation strategy. While the strategy was developed prior to the committee's report being finalised, the committee's recommendations continue to be carefully considered in the context of finalising the ultimate strategy.

The autism innovation strategy aims to address the challenges and barriers facing autistic people, understanding and accommodating autism within society and across the public system. The strategy contains actions that will be undertaken across government to better support autistic people and their families over an 18-month period. It complements and enhances wider action on disability by focusing on areas where there are bespoke needs for autistic people. In the context of the rising rates of autism globally, the autism innovation strategy is being positioned so as to identify and address those bespoke needs of the autistic community, laying the foundations for mainstream services that better understand and respond to the needs of autistic people alongside better public understanding of autism.

The strategy complements and enhances the national disability policy initiatives such as the recently published progressing disability services road map and the Action Plan for Disability Services 2024-2026. It comes in the course of simultaneous development of the next national disability strategy. It is clear that a great deal of work has been done.

To go back to the report, a number of key issues were identified by the committee, including delays in assessment of need, on which the Minister of State has worked tirelessly, poor access to assessments and services, the lack of inclusivity in education and the lack of employment supports. From June 2022 to May 2023, the Joint Committee on Autism had significant engagement with stakeholders regarding the provision of services to the autistic community.Over the course of 23 public meetings and 32 private meetings, the committee members learned a great deal about the challenges faced by the autistic community and those who support it. That is the value of this report. It reflects the views of the people who know the issues best. It is the result of the engagement with the stakeholders outlined in the report. We owe a great debt of gratitude to the people who came forward to the committee and told their really personal and honest stories about how they walk the path of being an autistic person in this country in 2024.

The recommendations in the committee's final report were informed, as I said, by its engagement with a broad range of witnesses. Several themes emerged that are relevant across a number of Departments. They include the urgent need for greater cross-departmental collaboration, joined-up service provision, clear pathways to direct access to services, accessible information, comprehensive consultation with the autistic community and well-resourced public services. More broadly, the report highlighted the need to change society's approach to autism and disability in general. We all have to learn, change, be willing to be wrong, be put outside our so-called normal box and to embrace a little bit of difference. We need to understand all types of disabilities.

I was struck by Fiacre Ryan, a young non-verbal autistic writer and student, who addressed a public meeting of the committee in December 2022. In his book, Speechless, Fiacre states:

It only seems appropriate to give the same rights given to those without autism to individuals with it. Needing some type of assistance does not make someone less of a person. Try to see past the autism and realise that we are the same inside as others.

The change that is needed goes beyond equality to equity and making sure we see people as themselves, with the value they have as they are, and give them some type of assistance. Just because people need help does not mean they are lesser. There is a culture within the Department of Social Protection in this regard that needs to be changed. There is a need for society to understand autistic people. There must be urgent action by the Government to address the stigma associated with autism and to improve the provision of services for autistic people.

Senator Joe O'Reilly spoke about the staffing issue. We need a drastic increase in the staff providing services to autistic people. The Minister of State has delivered the budget for that but the increase in staff numbers has not yet been delivered. I am interested in her views on that and her update on how she is moving forward to complete the CDNT teams. I know there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes.

One of the recommendations in the report that was implemented this week is the ratification of the optional protocol to the UNCRPD. This is a big win for all advocates, disability organisations and people who have pushed for it for a long time. I am very grateful for the work of the Minister of State in this regard. I am grateful to the Cabinet for passing the proposal on Tuesday this week. It is an important step forward.

Another recommendation in the report was for the establishment of a single entry point to children's disability services and to the child and adolescent mental health services for autistic children and disabled children to ensure they are no longer passed between services. There must be a continuity of service. We need liaison with third level institutions to develop work placement schemes to attract staff to disability services.

On education, I highlight the report's recommendation to provide funding and guidelines to ensure all new school premises are built in line with principles of universal design. There is a requirement for continuing professional development to ensure educational professionals, including teachers and SNAs, receive suitable autism training. The report recommends engagement with the HSE and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to ensure children in special schools can access clinical supports in the school setting. The Minister of State is a strong and successful advocate for that. There is a recommendation for increased pay to incentivise participation by SNAs and teachers in the schools-based summer programme. The committee recommends adopting a rights-based approach to the summer programme to ensure it is regarded as an essential service for autistic children and their families.

There are many other recommendations in the report. One in which I am very interested relates to employment. The Minister of State will correct me if action is already being taken in this regard but I would like to see, as well as the important recommendations on employment, work being done on self-employment. People with disabilities should have a proper pathway to self-employment and more supports in that regard. In France and other countries, there is a dedicated pathway to self-employment for people with disabilities. Such a scheme would be a very flexible and positive way to work towards improving employment rates for people with disabilities. I congratulate the Minister of State on her achievements.