Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

First, I welcome the Minister of State. I particularly welcome AsIAm and a great colleague and long-standing friend of mine, Adam Harris. It is great to see him here. I will take this opportunity without embarrassing him, because I do not think anything embarrasses him, to acknowledge his enormous journey. I have known him since he was only so high and have observed him. His lived experience and what he has brought to autism is simply amazing. I do not doubt the Taoiseach's commitment given he has Adam Harris at his side, prompting and reminding him. Well done to the Taoiseach and Adam Harris, particularly Adam, for his personal journey. It is not easy to stand up and talk about one's personal journey and use it in such a positive way as such an advocate and Adam Harris has done that amazingly well. I congratulate him and the whole team in AsIAm because they are an amazing example of what can be done, not only with personal experience, but with tenacity and commitment that drives every being in every day of his work as an advocate.

I also take this opportunity to thank the Minister of State for being here and listening. I particularly thank the Chairman of the committee, Senator Micheál Carrigy, who also has his own personal story. When an advocate has lived the life experience, walked and shared the journey, it brings added dimension to a campaign. The Senator has always used that very effectively, fairly and included everyone in the Parliament. I also acknowledge of the Oireachtas Work Learning, OWL, programme. Every day it is such a privilege to meet people who are involved in the OWL programme. They have added a special dimension to the parliamentary life of this place. That is something where we see the potential of mentorship, encouragement and support, but more importantly, the dignity of work and place and to be respected. That unique authenticity is so critically important to all our lives, which they have in buckets and spades.

Those are the nice words. The politician in me says let us keep the focus on this report.We have been asked to “note”, which is very disappointing and a very lacklustre word, this report. I do not like to see the word “note" in anything. Let us put a bit of context and realism into what we are talking about today.

This report was completed in June 2023, which is more than a year and a half ago. That is not to take from the amazing work of the committee and I acknowledge that and have done so. What has been very helpful for the committee in respect of the 109 recommendations is that they are broken down into a number of subgroups so we have the whole-of-government approach, and I like that. That is where it is all at. The Minister of State has consistently said that. One of her mantras is that it is a whole-of-government, holistic approach. There is no point in coming up to her and banging, shouting and screaming and then it is to do with the Minister of Finance. The recommendations are all multifaceted. The Minister of State has been very strong that it is a whole-of-government approach and I acknowledge that. When some people were not quite comfortable with it, she kept driving that message home so well done.

Where the whole-of-government approach breaks down in this report is when it comes to disability services, which has a subsection on health, education, employment, housing, planning and the built environment that are all so critical to this debate. Then there is a subsection on higher and further education, which is very important. We never stop learning, even in here. We need to keep learning and the day we think we are not learning, or are not prepared to or open to learning, we should pack our bags. Social protection is also a subsection and that is really important.

Those subsections are all equally important. We must not be overwhelmed by the ambition of this report, because it is ambitious. We must be realistic. This report cannot happen unless there are resources, be they staff or finances. That is critically important. There needs to be timelines. I know from my work on the agriculture committee that we have dashboards for agricultural performance and the delivery of the national forestry plan. The Department publishes the results online every week and they are published by the committee. I suggest the committee needs to look at this. I do not know if it has had much discussion about it. We need to have a track on this and see delivery, not hearsay. This Government is coming to its end. That is the reality of it. At least this report is sitting on the table for a new Minister. It is important we do not delay this anymore. We need to be in here as Senators and people in the Dáil as TDs need to be demanding the Minister of the day clearly sets out what is happening with no more excuses, no more tears and no more disappointments. We want action. We want real, tangible, measurable action that will deliver on these 109 recommendations because they must become alive and not be words on a page. There should be no more niceties and no more patronising. I am not suggesting that of anyone here by the way but I am tired of people patronising people who have special needs. We all have needs; that is a fact. I think that is important.

Let us not lose sight of the fact this report is more than a year old. It has 109 key recommendations. We need someone who can ultimately be held accountable politically and who will deliver on each and every one of these. That has to be measured because the report is only a bit of paper if it is not a plan that is shared and that people take responsibility for.

There will be a new, incoming Minister. The Minister of State has a few more weeks or maybe two or three more months and I know she will not give up. The reality is this report does not belong to any one individual. This report requires a whole-of-government response. Maybe I am a foolish person to do so but I predict there will be a similar type of government in a matter of weeks so the transition should be pretty smooth. We will not be talking for months and months about forming a government and what will be our priorities. The reality is, it is a continuity. It will be a transition to a new administration within weeks, if not months, so all of is sitting on the table and all of this is ready to go and be implemented.

Well done to all of the people involved - fair play to them – but in particular to Senator Micheál Carrigy for driving and pushing this every day and having such enthusiasm. This report is a credit to him and the team he led on this committee. Well done to all involved. I do not doubt the Minister of State’s commitment but time does not stand still for any of us and at least the work is done. It is ready. It is sitting on the desk. Let us put in place a clear reporting system that will see the delivery of these 109 recommendations.