Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 225: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the action she has taken in 2007 to improve the facilities, support and back-up services available to parents of children with autism with particular reference to the requirement of a co-ordinated one stop shop service to assist parents in identifying the full scale of requirements and making the necessary provisions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22117/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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As I advised the Deputy recently, my Department provides funding for the education of children with autism through the primary and post-primary school system, rather than any specific support services being provided for parents. Parents may contact their local Special Educational Needs Organiser (SENO) directly to discuss their child's special educational needs using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie. The Deputy is aware that the National Council for Special Education is responsible, through its network of local SENOs, for the establishment of special classes for autism and for allocating resource teachers and special needs assistants to schools to support children with special needs. All schools have the names and contact details of their local SENO. The matter of diagnosis and therapy supports is an issue for the Health Service Executive.