Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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317. To ask the Minister for Health his views on the development and adoption of a national autism strategy; the actions he is taking to ensure that the specific needs of persons with autism are met by the policies and actions of his Department; and the specific action plans, budgets and timelines in operation to meet these needs. [52714/18]

Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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The Government is committed under the National Disability Strategy (NDS) and the accompanying actions on Autism to ensuring that people with autism are empowered by policy and programmes to participate meaningfully as citizens in Irish society. The NDS is driven by this basic but fundamentally important objective and is the most effective combination of legislation, policies, institutional arrangements and services to support and reinforce equal participation for all people with disabilities.

In relation to Health services for people with Autism, there is substantial work underway with the purpose of improving Autism services. Earlier this month, the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, published two reports on autism – a report on the prevalence of autism in Ireland carried out by the Department of Health, and a review by the HSE of the services available for people with autism. The review identifies key priorities for implementation by HSE including:

- The establishment of a Programme Board tasked with implementing the recommendations in the report;

- Development of a Programme of Awareness Raising; and

- Guidance to clinicians and Service Development.

Minister Harris has asked the HSE to proceed with the implementation of the recommendations in their report. This commitment will be reflected in the HSE National Service Plan for 2019 and will form part of an overall Autism Plan to be published next year.