A Supreme Court appeal by the State will not affect the damages which have been paid to date to Mr Jamie Sinnott, a 23year-old autistic man who received only two years' formal education, the Minister for Education said last night. Dr Woods was commenting after it emerged that the State has lodged an appeal against the High Court judgment which awarded Mr Sinnott and his mother, Mrs Cathy Sinnott, £255,000 damages in October.
Last night sources said that the Department of Education would under no circumstances seek to claw back any of the phased payments due to the Sinnotts before the appeal is heard. But the sources could not confirm that the entire £255,000 award was ringfenced.
The State is claiming that the High Court judge, Mr Justice Barr, erred in awarding Mr Sinnott damages on the basis that his constitutional rights were breached.
The Minister said in a statement that the purpose of the appeal was to clarify points of law on a range of very significant issues in relation to children and adults with disabilities.
He said that in accordance with High Court undertakings, a payment of £42,000 had been made to Mr Sinnott's mother, Mrs Cathy Sinnott, for a home-based applied behaviour analysis programme for her son, and that another £15,000 had been paid to her to cover expenses for his education.