Vol. 542 No. 2
299 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health and Children the plans he has to develop a new policy (details supplied) for people aged 18 years and over in the autistic spectrum; and if his attention has been drawn to the fact that many such people are in institutions run by voluntary boards who are unable to fund these resources. [23823/01]
It has been the policy of my Department for a number of years to endeavour to meet identified needs in existing services, in addition to putting in place new services to support both adults and children with autism and those with an intellectual disability. This would include the enhancement of access to a range of support services, such as social work, psychology and other allied health services. In recent years, the level of investment in both new and existing services by this Government has, as the Deputy is aware, increased significantly, with additional revenue funding amounting to £76.7 million, 97.389 million, made available to the services in the last two years. This included nearly £7 million, 8.888 million, to meet identified needs in existing services. In addition to providing an enhanced level of funding to meet these needs, my Department is also working with the relevant educational and professional bodies to introduce measures which include short, medium and long-term strategies to deal with specific staffing needs across a spectrum of professions.
