Myshall is a typical small rural village with a population of approximately 150 people and the usual few pubs and shops, a sub-post office, a national school and a community hall.
I support the Government policy of the relocation of asylum seekers throughout the country with each area taking its fair share, as the constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny has done in Kilkenny city. The choice of location should not be based simply on the availability of accommodation. We should also consider the impact on the local population. In Myshall this will mean an overnight increase in the population of 25% with no support services to help with language and other difficulties.
Speaking on behalf of the parents and friends of autistic people in the Carlow-Kilkenny area, the Irish Society for Autism identified the centre in Myshall, County Carlow, earlier this year for the purpose of developing a service for young adults with autism. While the ISA attempted to put together a successful bid for the property the Office of Public Works swooped in with a bid of over £400,000 more than the ISA had available to it through its voluntary fund raising and bank loans. The Government must stand four square behind a project that will assist the ISA in rescuing these unfortunate individuals from tragic lives spent in the misery of a psychiatric institution or other unsuitable accommodation.
At the moment there are more than 50 families in the Carlow-Kilkenny community area and there is no autism specific residential care. Parents are no longer prepared to tolerate psychiatric or institutional care as a life-long option for their children, nor should they be asked to do so. Under the European Charter for Persons with Autism, people with autism have a right to accessible and suitable housing. Yet, eight years after that document was ratified by the European Parliament, hundreds of autistic people are still placed in totally unsuitable conditions. The development in Myshall is a light at the end of the tunnel for disabled children and their parents, families and friends.
The ISA and I fully support the Government's response to the refugee crisis, particularly because, as a group and as individuals, they have themselves been the victims of discrimination. However, parents feel the property in question would, in the long term, be better used for the provision of a life-long service to individuals who need special care and attention with dignity and respect.
The ISA proposes the development of the centre of excellence for the ongoing care of people with autism at Myshall, County Carlow. The centre will care with up to 20 persons with autism. Many people with autism now reside in totally unsuitable conditions in psychiatric hospitals or other institutions.
The society proposed a five year plan of development to be undertaken between the ISA, the South Eastern Health Board and the Eastern Regional Health Authority. To date, the society has had a meeting with the deputy chief executive officer of the South Eastern Health Board and he supports the plan. The health board recognises the need to plan for the future and has entered into discussions with the local parents, through the Carlow-Kilkenny branch of the Irish Society for Autism which represents the 50 families in the Carlow-Kilkenny area. They have also agreed to fund a population study in order to ascertain the true extent of the problem. There are known to be more than 100 persons with autism in the region.
On behalf of the many parents and people with autism in the Carlow-Kilkenny area, I thank the Minister of State for his efforts to date and I thank the Minister for Education and Science who recently made an announcement to this effect. I urge on the Minister of State to do everything in his power to ensure that this issue is brought to a satisfactory conclusion for all concerned.
