The Regional Group of TDs, of which Deputy Michael Lowry is a member, has successfully progressed the Autism Spectrum Disorder Bill 2017 through the Second Stage in the Dáil.
This Bill ensures that services required by people with autism are made available to them in a timely manner.
It was first introduced by former Minister for Health James O’Reilly in 2017 but never completed passage of the Dáil.
Bills must go through 10 stages before becoming law. The Regional Independents have been praised for using their Dáil time to resurrect the Bill.
However, the Government amended the Bill so that the second stage will not be deemed to be completed for one year until October 2023 to allow time for development and implementation of a national Autism Innovation Strategy, in line with commitments under the Programme for Government.
The Regional Group of TDs continues to highlight that autism is not a health issue but a human rights issue.
‘The purpose of the Bill is to address the inconsistency that exists throughout the State in respect of both the availability and type of services that are accessible to children and adults with autism through the implementation of a cross departmental, multi-agency autism strategy’
On average the annual cost of disability per child for families amounted to more than €28,000 related to private services, lost income, and informal care.
