The High Court's decision not to order the State to provide a six-year-old autistic boy with the education demanded by his parents could have implications for all people with disabilities, according to autism campaigners.
Independent MEP Kathy Sinnott said the court's judgment in Seán Ó Cuanacháin's case could roll back some of the rights established in her son Jamie's landmark case in 2000.
"We will have to wait for the judge to release the written judgment before we know how much it has damaged our original case, but at this stage it looks incredibly ominous," she said.
She said her son's case established the right of children to primary education appropriate to their needs, as assessed by a relevant expert. However, the Ó Cuanacháin case appeared to give the State the choice in relation to education provision.
The Ó Cuanacháins wanted the court to compel the State to provide Seán with 30 hours a week of a type of tuition called applied behavioural analysis (ABA).
Ms Sinnott said: "In this case, the State is saying it will provide a general programme for children with autism and this will suit Seán."
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin welcomed the judgment and said the needs of autistic children were being met by a range of educational measures in special classes and mainstream schools.
"We have to think about what is best for all of the children in the country. We do accept ABA but we also accept that there are other methods that should be used and not any one method exclusively."
The case was regarded as a test for more than 150 others involving parents seeking ABA education for their autistic children. Several hundred supporters of Irish Autism Action demonstrated outside the Four Courts before yesterday's judgment.
Afterwards, IAA vice-chairman Mark de Salvo said he was amazed by the decision but vowed that campaigners would continue their fight.
Ms Sinnott said she was devastated by the outcome and "seriously ashamed" that Government Ministers and the HSE would spend 68 days in court demanding the right to decide what education a five-year-old boy would get.
Seán has access to some State-funded ABA tuition at a school in Co Wicklow. However, Mr Justice Michael Peart ruled there was not sufficient evidence to determine that the model of education provided by the State was not appropriate.
He has yet to rule on whether the Ó Cuanacháins should be awarded damages for delays in providing Seán with education between 2002 and 2004. A full judgment will be delivered next month.
Costs in the 68-day case are estimated at more than €5 million.
