Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 November 2023
488. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he has any plans to establish a dedicated cross-departmental unit in his Department to facilitate a whole-of-government approach to autism and to embed joined-up cross-departmental services; and the estimated cost of establishing a dedicated cross-departmental unit in his Department. [51941/23]
View answerThe Government is committed to better meeting the needs of autistic people in the State. Action on autism, as with action on disability more broadly, is advanced on a mainstream first basis, and on the basis of meeting the needs of an individual rather than around a particular diagnosis or impairment. Following the completion of the transfer of disability services functions to my Department this year, in addition to the earlier transfer of disability equality functions, there is now a fully staffed Division working to address a range of disability issues, including action on autism.
Due to the whole of government dimension of aspects of the work required to meet the needs of our disabled population, action advanced on a "mainstream first" basis means that individual departments and agencies support persons with disabilities within their areas of responsibility. This is in line with the approach set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Ireland ratified in 2018. My Department acts as a central coordination point to drive and support these efforts across Government.
Autistic people, along with other disability cohorts, are currently being supported via a range of policy and legislative frameworks in my Department and across Government. Within my own areas of responsibility, people with disabilities, including autistic people, will be further supported via the Progressing Disability Services or PDS Roadmap, the Disability Services Action Plan, and the new National Disability Strategy (NDS) that is currently being developed to further advance implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Ireland. The next NDS in particular will seek to set out a framework for improved action and coordination on disability issues, including autism.
However, it is recognised that there bespoke challenges facing autistic people that need to be better addressed. It is for this reason that I have prioritised development of a new national strategy on autism, the Autism Innovation Strategy.
The Autism Innovation Strategy will provide a framework for cross-Government action on autism, which is designed to complement and enhance existing policy frameworks. It will seek to provide for better mainstream understanding and accommodation of the needs of Autistic people across the public system. It will also seek to promote a more holistic and coordinated approach to services and supports for autistic people in the State,
Development of the strategy is currently at an advanced stage with drafting of the strategy being finalised at present. This follows several months of engagements right across Government to agree a suite of clear, simple actions that can address gaps in existing supports and services for Autistic people within an 18 month timeframe. This process has included careful consideration of the recommendations contained in the final report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism and the findings of a public consultation held in 2022.
Once drafting of the strategy is complete, there will be a further public consultation prior to the formal adoption of the Autism Innovation Strategy. It intended that implementation of the strategy will begin in early 2024 and that is the clear focus of work at present.
