Slide-by-slide script

1. Slide 1 · title

   Brief · 8GI Foundation
   The autism protocol was 'consulted on'.
   By 12 people. With 25% endorsement. Three quarters of the questions ignored.

2. Slide 2 · bullets

   What it is
   The new Autism Assessment and Intervention Pathways Protocol, launched 26 May 2026.
   
   1. HSE's first nationally standardised autism assessment pathway.
   2. Three tiers — by 'clarity of presentation'.
   3. Runs in parallel to the statutory Assessment of Need.
   4. First time adults are included in publicly funded assessment.
   5. National rollout begins July 2026.

3. Slide 3 · timeline

   The five-and-a-half-year arc
   
   Nov 2017 — HSE Review of services for autistic individuals.
   2019 — Working group convened. 3 lived-experience members.
   Jul 2024 — Autism Innovation Strategy — neuroaffirmative.
   Nov 2024 — PSI writes formal opposition to the tiered model.
   Jan 2025 — SIGA: 'exponentially increases risk of poor assessments'.
   Mar 2025 — Online consultation — 25% endorse.
   May 2025 — In-person consultation — 9.8% turnout.
   May 2026 — Protocol launched. Bodies still in opposition.

4. Slide 4 · stat

   9.8%
   civil-society attendance at the only in-person consultation, 22 May 2025.
   Source: Prunty Report, HSE Service Improvement Programme

5. Slide 5 · stat

   25%
   of polled attendees said the protocol features seemed appropriate.
   Source: HSE March 2025 online consultation — Poll Q2

6. Slide 6 · stat

   0 of 8
   of Nessa Hill's substantive questions answered directly. She sits on the Autism Innovation Strategy Oversight Board.
   Source: Email chain — Sharon Barry (HSE) ↔ Nessa Hill, April-May 2025

7. Slide 7 · quote

   "Look at the first attachment — it is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen."
   — Nessa Hill, CEO, Neurodiversity Ireland
     (Internal email, 27 May 2026 — on the HSE consultation report)

8. Slide 8 · quote

   "An exercise in propaganda. Genuinely feels like this has been designed to evade the Disability Act 2005."
   — Anonymous attendee, HSE online consultation
     (Free-text comment #8 — 19 March 2025)

9. Slide 9 · comparison

   Promised vs. delivered
   
   Autism Innovation Strategy:
     • Neuroaffirmative.
     • Identity-first language.
     • Rights-based, social model.
     • Lifespan view.
     • Co-design with autistic community.
   
   Pathways Protocol:
     • Deficit-based clinical framing.
     • 'Clear' vs 'unclear' presentations.
     • Tier 1 single-clinician.
     • 'Autistic but not disabled' clarified by clinicians.
     • 1 named autistic representative in 5+ years.

10. Slide 10 · bullets

    Who actually decided this
    The named senior governance chain. None of them are autistic.
    
    1. Mac MacLachlan — Chair, Autism Protocol Subcommittee.
    2. John Fitzmaurice — Chair, Programme Board.
    3. Sharon Barry — Service Improvement Lead, HSE.
    4. Geraldine Prunty — Independent Facilitator.
    5. David Martyn — External Evaluator, CES.

11. Slide 11 · quote

    "To my knowledge legal advice has not been sought on this."
    — Prof. Mac MacLachlan, Subcommittee Chair
      (HSE-published response, 19 March 2025 — on 'autistic but not disabled')

12. Slide 12 · stat

    1 of 255
    pilot assessments completed at Tier 3. Only 39% at Tier 1 — the headline streamlining tier.
    Source: Sharon Barry, HSE Lenus poster — pilot evaluation

13. Slide 13 · bullets

    What the professional bodies said
    Opposed in writing. By name. On the public record.
    
    1. PSI (5,000+ members): 'contrary to' PSI 2022, SIGN, NICE.
    2. SIGA: 'exponentially increases the risk of poor assessments'.
    3. IASLT and AOTI: aligned with PSI / SIGA.
    4. F.U.S.S. Ireland: 'absolute opposition'.
    5. INTO: 'profound breach of trust'.

14. Slide 14 · quote

    "Almost 10,000 [Preliminary Team Assessments] had to be repeated… at approximately €20 million."
    — PSI letter to the HSE — 22 November 2024
      (The precedent PSI says the new protocol risks repeating)

15. Slide 15 · tldr

    TL;DR — It wasn't a consultation. It was a launch with permission signatures attached.
    
    ▸ 5 named non-autistic decision-makers. 1 named autistic representative.
    ▸ Two consultations: 27 then 12 attendees. 25% endorsement each time.
    ▸ PSI, SIGA, IASLT, AOTI, F.U.S.S. opposed. Protocol launched unchanged.
    ▸ Tier 1 used in only 39% of pilot assessments.
    ▸ MacLachlan: legal advice not sought. Protocol launched anyway.

16. Slide 16 · title

    Receipts at 8gi.org
    Every fact in this brief is cited.
    8gi.org/public-record/ireland/projects/autism-assessment-protocol