Four children with autism and a child with a severe intellectual disability have brought separate High Court actions over the Minister for Education’s alleged failure to provide them access to education.
One of the children, an eight-year-old boy with autism, has never attended school.
On Thursday, the children’s counsel Joe Jeffers SC, appearing with Brendan Hennessy BL and instructed by Healy Law, told Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty the cases were “urgent”. The judge granted permission to the children’s lawyers to bring the judicial review proceedings.
None of the children can be identified, by order of the court.
Live reaction to Leaving Cert English paper two: Relief as much-predicted Eavan Boland features
The Brooklyn, Swords review: One star for the worst chicken burger I’ve ever tasted
Trump signs ban on citizens entering the US from 12 countries, including Iran, Haiti and Afghanistan
After Dolly Alderton’s party, I decided to ditch the impostor syndrome that’s dogged me
A 12-year-old boy who is profoundly disabled is seeking an order compelling the Minister, the National Council for Special Education, Ireland and the Attorney General to provide him with appropriate schooling.
On account of his severe intellectual disability, the boy’s current school placement – where he has attended since the beginning of his school – is “wholly unsuitable”. His father says that “in hindsight” this school was inappropriate for his needs from the outset.
In a sworn statement, the boy’s father says that his son was diagnosed with autism aged four.
In 2018, he was reassessed, and was diagnosed with autism and a moderate intellectual disability. In 2020, the boy was reassessed again, and deemed to have a severe intellectual disability.
The diagnosis of a severe intellectual disability came as no surprise to the boy’s parents, his father says.
“The failure of the HSE to listen to our concerns and conduct a timely reassessment led to significant and avoidable delays,” the father says. “This has led to us having to fight non-stop to have [the boy] placed in the appropriate school.”
An eight-year-old boy with autism – who has never attended school – is also seeking an order compelling the Minister, the National Council for Special Education, Ireland and the Attorney General to provide him with appropriate schooling.
The boy’s mother has applied to every special school in her county, but has been unable to secure a school place.
“The sad truth is that if I never sent [the boy] to school, nobody would know and nobody would care,” the mother says in a sworn statement.
A five-year-old girl with autism is seeking an order compelling the Minister, the National Council for Special Education, Ireland and the Attorney General to provide her with appropriate schooling as well.
The girl’s mother had sought to have her daughter begin primary schooling last September, but was unable to find a school placement, she says in a sworn statement. The girl, who is non-verbal and has complex needs, is now in her third year of attending a preschool.
The inability to find a school placement for her daughter has caused the woman “extreme stress and anxiety”, she said. “In August of 2024, I felt I was at breaking point and was prescribed antidepressants due to overwhelming pressure and stress,” she says.
The mother says that she has contacted 35 schools seeking a school placement, initially to begin last September, and then this coming September. The girl remains without a primary school place, her mother says.
A five-year-old boy with autism is seeking an order compelling the Minister, the National Council for Special Education, Ireland and the Attorney General to provide him with appropriate schooling.
The boy, who is non-verbal, is currently in his second year of preschool, but this placement will come to an end in the summer.
In a sworn statement, the boy’s mother says an inability to secure a special school placement has been “devastating”.
“I have not slept in 15 weeks as I am sick with worry about his future,” she says.
A six-year-old boy with autism is seeking an order compelling the Minister to provide him with school transport. The delay in providing the boy with transport, which was approved by the Department of Education in January, is “egregious”, the boy’s mother says.
The cases will return to court later in the month.
