Proinsias De Rossa
Question:136 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Education and Science the action he will take following the Sinnott case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26463/00]
Written Answers. - Special Educational Needs.
Michael D. Higgins
Question:398 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will appeal the Sinnott judgment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26320/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 136 and 398 together.
The case to which the Deputy refers was concerned with the educational entitlements of Jamie Sinnott, a young man who is suffering from severe autism and profound mental and physical disablement. The case dealt with a range of complex issues and the judgment of the court has very significant implications, not just for the education of children with special needs but, more generally, for the education system.
The court held that Mr. Sinnott was entitled to an education service for so long as he could benefit from it. The judgment would, therefore, appear to extend the provisions of the Constitution relating to the education of children, to the education of adults with disabilities similar to that of the plaintiff and to other adults, generally.
The court also awarded damages of £200,000 to Mr. Sinnott and £50,000 to his mother. As part of this award, the court ordered that the State make an immediate payment of £42,000 to Mrs. Sinnott to enable her to put a home based education service in place for her son. It also ordered the immediate payment of a further £15,000 to cover expenses already incurred by Mrs. Sinnott in catering for her son. These payments have already been made.
The case also highlighted the State's failure over many years to make adequate provision for the education of some children with special needs. As Minister for Education and Science, it is my intention to remedy these deficiencies. As a first step in this process, I have already announced a range of new developments in this area, including the immediate introduction of a nationwide pre-school education service for all children with autism; the extension of the school year through the month of July in the case of all special facilities catering for children with autism, and a doubling of the level of special needs assistant cover provided to each special class catering for children with autism.
I am also appointing an internationally recognised expert in the field of autism to advise my Department on the development of services in this area and to liaise with the work of the special task force on autism which I recently established and which has been requested to report to me within three months. I am also appointing a clinical psychologist to advise on the needs of individual children with autism.
The measures which I am now putting in place are intended to provide a basis for the development of an appropriate range of responses to the needs of children with autism.
However, elements of the judgment in the case to which the Deputy refers have raised issues which are of such importance to the education system and generally to the system of State administration that they require clarification by the Supreme Court. The Government considers that it has an obligation, in the public interest, to clarify these matters and establish precisely what is the range of the State's duty in this matter. The Government has therefore decided to appeal the judgment to the Supreme Court and to cover costs of both parties in seeking clarification of the issues involved.
The appeal will focus exclusively on legal and constitutional issues and it would be entirely wrong to characterise the appeal as an effort to deny services to Jamie Sinnott. Indeed, as indicated above, arrangements are already being made to ensure that Jamie and his mother receive the services ordered by the court.