Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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207. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to increase service provision so that children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder will be provided with the full range of necessary services; if the money provided to service providers is provided for specific purposes; or if the service providers have discretion as to the way the allocated resources are expended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24246/15]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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The Health Service Executive is currently engaged in a major reconfiguration of existing therapy resources for children with disabilities, including those with autism, into multi-disciplinary geographically based teams. The key objective of the Progressing Disabilities Programme is to bring about equity of access to disability services and consistency of service delivery across the country. This involves the creation of a clear pathway to services for children with disabilities, regardless of where they live, what school they go to or the nature of the individual child's difficulties.

The Programme is a key priority for the HSE's Social Care Directorate. An additional €4m was allocated in 2014 to assist in implementing the Programme, equating to approximately 80 additional therapy posts. Further investment of €4 million will also be made to support the development of therapy services in 2015 (equating to €6 million in a full year). A number of HSE Community Healthcare Organisations across the country are successfully implementing the Programme. It requires significant preparatory work in engaging with families, schools, voluntary providers and local communities and the development of new procedures and protocols in respect of multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working. Once this preparatory work has been completed additional posts are being provided to support the implementation of the new model of service.

I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy in respect of the specific operational matters he has raised. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and they will follow up the matter with them.