The Department of Education could be facing a multi-million pound liability after the High Court directed it to provide free primary education to a 23-year-old autistic man. Mr Jamie Sinnott and his mother, Kathryn, of Ballinhassig, Co Cork, were awarded £255,000 for the breach of their constitutional rights after the court found the State had failed to honour its commitments to provide his education.
According to the landmark judgment, there are another 100 cases pending of autistic and special needs pupils who are claiming they should be given free education. The court rejected the Department's argument that after someone turned 18, it had no obligation towards them.
Mr Justice Barr warned he was setting a marker that punitive damages would be awarded if the State persisted in breaching its constitutional obligations to severely handicapped children.
The Department of Education said yesterday it was closely studying the judgment, which could have implications for thousands of special needs children and their parents.
It recently established a task force on autism which is due to report within three months to the Minister, Dr Woods.
The Irish Society for Autism welcomed the judgment last night and said many parents of the 1,200 autistic children in the Republic would also be looking for legal redress. Many were not getting any education, while others were taught by teachers without proper training.
Ms Kathryn Sinnott told The Irish Times she was delighted and said the judgment would help many parents to vindicate their rights. The Department had persisted in denying her son proper education because it said he was "severely and profoundly handicapped". She said this was wrong and he could have advanced in school if he been taught by teachers with training in autism.
Mr Sinnott needs four to five years of intense therapy to be in a position to benefit from primary education. His mother said the special classes on offer to autistic children were "nothing but babysitting services".
Mr Justice Barr described the difficulties encountered by Mr Sinnott and his mother in securing appropriate education for him as "symptomatic of a widespread malaise". In a 70-page judgment, he found the State had failed and continued to fail to honour its constitutional obligation to provide free primary education to Mr Sinnott. He directed that appropriate education and other services must be provided now and awarded total damages of £255,000 - £200,000 to Mr Sinnott and £55,000 to his mother - for breach of their constitutional rights.
The judge found that Mr Sinnott, despite being diagnosed with autism in his first year and having had various programmes of education and services recommended for him by experts in the US and Ireland, had received from the State no more than two years of meaningful education in his 23 years.