Debate contribution: Autism (Amendment) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022
Debate contribution by Mr Maolíosa McHugh on .
- MLA
- Mr Maolíosa McHugh
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 30 April 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Autism (Amendment) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4487678
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Like many other Members, I am keen to see the new autism legislation and strategy be implemented properly so that it can make a real difference to the lives of our autistic community across the North of Ireland, particularly those in my community in West Tyrone. I facilitate a group of parents with autistic children, who, in many cases, are now young adults. I am only too aware of the difficulties that they are confronted with daily. A common comment that I hear from them is that, after they have moved through the education system, it is a bit like falling off a cliff, because of the lack of support and services that they then desperately need in all aspects of their life. After reading through the new strategy and the accompanying delivery plan, I am concerned that some of the targets are not quantifiable, with no real baseline as guidance to monitor whether improvements have been made, particularly for our adult autism community. As has already been mentioned, section 3(4D) of the Autism Act 2011, as amended by the 2022 Act, states:
"The autism strategy must set out how the needs of adults with autism will be addressed, including in particular their needs in respect of ... emotional and mental well-being".
A Member who spoke previously mentioned emotional and mental well-being, but the 2011 Act also sets out that the needs of adults with autism be addressed in respect of:
"(a) lifelong learning, (b) employment support, (c) recreation, (d) physical health, ... (f) supported living, and (g) housing."
I understand that an adult autism review is taking place, and I look forward to seeing its recommendations. I am concerned, however, that, again, no real targets are set for the issues that are outlined in the Autism (Amendment) Act. For example, can we find out how many autistic adults are currently in employment in the North of Ireland? There is a significant gap between employment rates for people who live with a disability and those for non-disabled people. Data from the Twenty-six Counties suggests that 85% of autistic people are currently unemployed, and the percentage is roughly 78% in England and Wales. People with autism have the lowest employment rate by far among the disabled community, but we need to know the data for the North. Could the recent census give us the employment figures for people with autism? Perhaps or perhaps not. Similarly, how many autistic people are engaged in lifelong learning? One would think that that is an area that could be monitored a whole lot easier. How can we support those who are in lifelong learning, and what are the targets that we need to be achieving in order to bring the autism community into line with the rest of society? The stark figures show us that people with autism need to be empowered and supported to access employment and learning opportunities. I feel overall that we need a clearer overview of where our autism support services stand at present and of where we need to take them in the next five years, if not sooner, with proper quantitative as well as qualitative targets set. Tá ceist agam ar an Aire.
Can the Minister therefore confirm for us that, when the results of the adult autism review are released, measurable targets will be attached to the actions in the autism strategy?
564 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not qualifying”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (qualifying needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not qualifying).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.97).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-qualifying threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.97 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-qualifying threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 1.00 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:03 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
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