McGrath criticised over his claims of ‘explosion of autism’

Autism campaigner Adam Harris has accused Mattie McGrath of “dog whistling to conspiracy theorists” after the TD claimed in the Dáil there had been an “explosion of autism”.

The Taoiseach’s brother, Mr Harris, who is chief executive and founder of autism charity AsIAm, accused the Tipperary deputy of spreading “dangerous misinformation” about autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

“Is it any wonder the stigma that autistic people suffer when such dangerous misinformation is spouted in the Dáil?” Mr Harris, who has Asperger’s syndrome, wrote on social media.

Mr Harris’ response came after Mr McGrath mentioned him by name in the Dáil, saying: “There must be a need for understanding the explosion of autism.”

Mr McGrath spoke of his own late brother, whom he described as a “paediatrician of some renown”. He said that when his brother came home from Africa in the 1990s it was the first he heard of autism, dyspraxia or dyslexia.

He said his brother was a champion of children from all over the country, who was also “at the time questioning what is causing all of this”.

“It is so tough and early diagnosis is so important but we must examine why,” Mr McGrath said.

“The last time I raised this here I was berated by a certain Mr Harris, not the politician, but the other guy from AsIAm. I think Adam is his name.”

Mr McGrath added that his own late brother was “very concerned something was causing it”, adding “when I was going to school… we did not see these issues”.

“There were some issues but nothing like the amount there are now,” Mr McGrath said, adding that he salutes every school that has autism rooms and services.

Addressing Mr McGrath’s comments, Mr Harris wrote on X: “Never mind explaining the right language or facts but dog whistling to conspiracy theorists at autistic people’s expense is below the belt Mattie McGrath”.

Following the post, Mr Harris told the Irish Independent that Mr McGrath’s comments were “incredibly ignorant”.

“Not alone are they not rooted in fact or reality – they are playing to conspiracy theorist views which are deeply hurtful and create barriers for autistic people in day to day life,” he said.

“Ignorance is no defence when information is readily available, including from organisations such as AsIAm.”

Mr McGrath was contacted for comment.