The Minister for Education this evening insisted Mrs Kathryn Sinnott would not be forced to pay the costs of her Supreme Court action against the State.
Mrs Sinnott claims her solicitor was contacted last Friday by the Chief State solicitors’ office and given notice that she would be liable for costs from the seven-judge Supreme Court.
But Dr Michael Woods assured Mrs Sinnott that "all costs are being met" and said today was the first time he had heard that Chief State solicitors’ office had contacted her about this matter. Both of them spoke on RTÉ radio this evening.
Dr Woods said the Government’s decision to pay Mrs Sinnott's cost stood, "absolutely and unequivocally". "We will deliver on all the costs - that is the reality. There is no question about that", he said.
Mrs Sinnott said she didn’t understand the reasoning behind the Chief State solicitor’s office statement. She suggested that the Government was trying to bully her - "as a warning to other parents [of autistic children] to back off".
Mrs Sinnott said the Government saw disabled people and their families as "enemies of the State". "I don’t know if there’s no limit to the vindictiveness of the State - the victimising of disabled people and the victimising of the families - it’s a kind of nightmare", she said.
She also advised the Minister to stop throwing money at disabled people and advised him to talk to people working and specialising in the area. Mrs Sinnott said the Minister’s task force report was "a PR job" which would only recommend the cheap option.
No spokesperson from the Chief State solicitors’ office was available for comment this evening.