Sir, - In an article headed "Citizens don't have rights in this State" (Opinion, April 10th) Fintan O'Toole wrote about the recent Supreme Court hearing in the case concerning Jamie Sinnott. As the Supreme Court has reserved its judgement, this Department does not have the freedom which Mr O'Toole has to comment on the core issues in the case, so the correction of his misrepresentations of the Minister's and Government's position will have to await another occasion. However, in the interests of avoiding unnecessary concern to parents of severely mentally disabled children, I would like to put the factual record straight.
The Minister for Education and Science fully accepts that the State has a constitutional duty to provide for free primary education for all children, whatever the level of their ability. The Supreme Court was specifically informed of this and of the position which the State adopts of accepting that, in the case of severely mentally disabled children and young people, their right to free primary education extends up to age 18. The Government has made substantial additional resources available to provide for that education. The appeal in the case of Jamie Sinnott has nothing to do with demolishing the principle that an appropriate education is a human right or with avoiding the provision of an appropriate education to every autistic child, as Mr O'Toole would have it. The case, in large part, concerns the extent to which the guarantee of free primary education in the Constitution extends to adults, with or without disabilities.
Whatever Mr O'Toole's views about the appropriateness or otherwise of the State asking the highest constitutional court in the land to adjudicate on the significant constitutional issues involved, it can hardy be helpful to parents of children with disabilities for Mr O'Toole to misrepresent the purpose of the appeal, its possible implications for children with disabilities and their parents and the objectives of the Government. - Yours, etc.,
Jacky Hynes, Press Officer, Department of Education and Science, Marlborough Street, Dublin 1.