Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 311: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the relatively high incidents of autism here; if she proposes to dedicate any specific funding for research in this area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35679/05]

Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)
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According to the latest report of the national intellectual disability database, which was published on 29 September 2005, there are 24,917 people registered on the database. This would include people with autism. However, information pertaining to diagnosis is specifically excluded, as the database is not designed as a medical epidemiological tool. The data held in any individual record represent the information available for that person at a specific point in time only. The record is updated whenever there are changes in the person's circumstances or during the annual review process in the spring of each year.

The national intellectual disability database enables those involved with the planning and delivery of service to people with an intellectual disability and those with autism to identify not only the level or need among those awaiting placement in services but also the service changes required by those already in receipt of services. In addition, my Department has committed €5 million in funding to an Irish research project participating in an international genetics project designed to map the human genome in the search for autism susceptibility genes.