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Minister of State for Disabilities Finian McGrath TD today marked the World Autism Awareness Day, on Sunday, 2 April. The Minister acknowledged the role of the United Nations in having this specific World Autism Awareness Day to raise awareness of autism among the general public. The 2017 Theme is "Toward Autonomy and Self-Determination". 

Minister McGrath said "I want to take this opportunity on World Autism Awareness Day to thank those working with people with autism who do such incredible work in allowing and encouraging people with autism to achieve their full potential in life. As Minister for Disabilities I have had the great pleasure of interacting with both service providers and users and only recently met some fantastic people when I opened the Botanic Horizons service run by Autism Spectrum Disorder Initiatives (ASDI)."
The Government continues to be committed to providing services to people with disabilities, including autism. In 2017, funding of €1.68 billion is being provided by the HSE for disability services.