Ms Kathryn Sinnott, whose autistic son, Jamie (24), won a landmark High Court action two years ago vindicating his constitutional right to appropriate education, a decision later appealed successfully by the Government, may stand as an independent candidate in Cork in the general election.
Yesterday Ms Sinnott, representing the Hope Project in Cork and the Cork Disability Group, joined other protesting groups outside the Dáil, demanding the rejection of the Disability Bill, now at the second stage, and a fundamental rethink of how the State should behave towards people with disabilities.
After the judgment, Ms Sinnott said she had pledged to do "whatever it takes to get the State to put its citizens first, regardless of disability" and if that included offering herself for election in the Cork South Central Constituency, she was willing.
She said the Disability Bill, as proposed, was repugnant to those fighting for the rights of people with disabilities and seemed more concerned with housekeeping matters such as access, than enshrining the fundamental rights of disabled persons "to live, learn, work and receive medical treatment in at least minimal dignity, to share in the life of the community, move around this country freely and make decisions". Reading the Bill, she added, had caused her dismay and surprise.
Ms Sinnott said she would decide within the next two weeks whether to stand. "Everywhere I go, people are asking me to become a candidate. I don't think people are willing to place their trust in the politicians any longer. There is a feeling that the State and its politicians are merely self- serving.
"I am watching very closely what the Government is proposing to do regarding the disabled. For a start, my group and the others who campaigned outside the Dáil today feel the Bill should be scrapped. The Government should start afresh, replacing it with a rights-based, person-centred one, and hold a referendum amending Article 42.4 of the Constitution guaranteeing everyone the right to free primary education according to need and without regard to chronological age," she added.