Tipperary TD calls for reinstatement of original autism summer camp programme

Tipperary TD Michael Lowry has called for the reinstatement of the original summer programme for children with autism and profound special needs.

"There was an excellent summer programme in place. It worked effectively and provided the routine and stability the children required. It provided invaluable support and back-up to parents and families," he said. "It was doing its job and it was doing it well."

The Thurles TD said that everything changed in 2020 when the programme opened up to incorporate children with other specific needs.

Numbers skyrocketed from 15,000 in 2019, to 80,000 in 2021 and getting places on the programme became increasingly challenging and ultimately impossible for many families, he said.

"It seems cruelly ironic that a summer programme successfully established to cater specifically for the needs of children with autism spectrum condition and for those with profound special needs has become almost impossible to access by the very children it was designed for, yet this is what has happened," said Deputy Lowry. "We need to turn this around."

The Independent TD said that while clearly, the needs of the new groups of children that were benefitting from the programme should not be neglected, "we cannot give something with one hand and take it back with the other".

These children were not responsible for the decisions that were taken on their behalf and they deserved to have a summer programme that met  their needs, which were different to those that the original programme was designed to meet, he said.

"We must ensure that there are sufficient resources in place to ensure that all requirements are met in a way that is most beneficial to individual needs.

"Similarly, the hiring of properly trained staff is crucial to the successful and beneficial running of a programme designed to meet the needs of autistic children and all children with special needs," said Deputy Lowry.

He said that it was of critical importance that there was enough staff members to provide the summer programme and also to ensure the proper supervision and care of the children and staff who agreed to work through the summer programme must be adequately recompensed for doing so.

"It must be made attractive to them. These programmes cannot happen without them, so there must be incentives in place to encourage participation," said Deputy Lowry.

He said that the benefits of the summer programme were enormous, but only if they catered appropriately and effectively to the specific needs of the children that attended and only if they were properly staffed. And crucially, only if those children can gain access to the programme.