David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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501. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the cost of implementing the Autism Innovation Strategy. [28591/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Autism Innovation Strategy was published on 26 August 2024. It identifies 83 actions that can make a meaningful difference to the lives of autistic people over the 18-month lifetime of the Strategy, or actions which provide a solid foundation for improved mainstream accommodation of autism going forward.

11 Government Departments and several public bodies have committed to leading on, or supporting, actions in the Strategy. This Government is committed to the full implementation of the Strategy, and this is reflected in the Programme for Government. I am pleased to report that strong progress is being made across all thematic pillars.

Given the cross-government nature of the Strategy, individual Departments and agencies are responsible for assessing the cost implications of particular actions within their own remit and securing the necessary funding for these. As a result, it is not possible for my Department to provide the total cost of implementation across all remits, where funding decisions are a matter for the bodies in question.

With regard to the actions within my own remit, €2m has been secured for the establishment of an Autism Innovation Fund in Budget 2025. Proposals for the administration of that Fund are being prepared by my officials for my approval.

The Strategy also commits to the development of a national acceptance and understanding campaign. The cost of this campaign will be dependent on the scale and nature of the campaign to be delivered, the proposal for which will be co-designed with autistic people.

The HSE, supported by my Department, is also responsible for a number of actions within the Strategy however it is not possible to provide the costs associated with these specific actions as the budget provided is not disaggregated on the basis of any particular disability.

A number of additional actions within the Strategy which aim to improve mainstream accommodation of the needs of autistic people are focused on improved information provision, ways of working, and policy development, which are cost neutral but designed to ensure more explicit and impactful mainstream supports.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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502. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the cost of increasing funding for disabled person representative organisations by 10%. [28592/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Under the next National Disability Strategy, my Department is committed to developing structures for strengthening engagement between the State and disability stakeholders, including Disabled Persons' Organisations (DPOs). It is acknowledged that the development of a strong, active and representative DPO landscape will necessitate the provision of adequate funding to support the activities of those groups as effective advocates for disabled people

Determining the model for, and quantum of, funding required to support an active and effective DPO landscape is a complex matter that is being worked through carefully on an ongoing basis with disability stakeholders, including Disabled Persons' Organisations.

My Department is fully committed to fulfilling our obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including with respect to the role of Disabled Persons' Organisations in the development and implementation of policy and legislation. Article 4(3) of the UNCRPD stipulates that State Parties shall closely consult with and actively involve persons with disabilities through their representative organisations in policy making and implementation; Article 29 additionally provides that States would promote actively an environment in which persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in the conduct of public affairs, including through the forming and joining of representative organisations at international, national, regional and local levels.

DPOs are diverse in their membership, their goals and in the funding streams they access across government departments and public bodies; it is not possible to calculate the cost of an increase in funding as a percentage increase on current funding where no one baseline figure exists and where funding streams are diverse and cross departmental remits.