Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 193: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will respond to a matter (details supplied). [24836/08]

John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware the education of a child, irrespective of their disability, is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Education and Science. Where applicable, the Health Service Executive supply support services to enable the particular person to avail fully of the educational system being offered. With regard to a matter raised by the Deputy in paragraph one of details supplied, information pertaining to diagnosis is specifically excluded from the National Intellectual Disability Database as the database is not designed as a medical epidemiological tool. Accordingly the database does not record the incidence of autism or any other disability.

My Department and the HSE are committed to reviewing existing information systems within the disability services, including the databases, in order to provide the most effective method of collecting data to meet the requirements of the Disability Act, 2005 and for the purposes of planning services to meet the needs of people with a disability. With regard to the remaining matters raised by the Deputy in details supplied, these relate to the management and delivery of health and personal services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act, 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange to have these matters investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.