A new Bill which will seek to copperfasten the rights of special needs children to education will be published shortly.
But the Government remains strongly opposed to a referendum on special needs education along the lines favoured by Mrs Kathyrn Sinnott.
It is understood the new Children's Disability (Education) Bill is designed to give what one source called "watertight legal guarantees" to the parents of special needs children. It is entirely separate from the more general Disability Bill also now in preparation.
Sources say the new Bill means that a constitutional amendment and a referendum were no longer required.
They say experience in other states shows clearly that the rights of autistic children can be fully protected through legislation.
Meanwhile, the Department of Education is set to publish the report of the Task Force on Autism within the next week. The report, which makes the case for constitutional and legal reform, was detailed in this newspaper yesterday.
The Labour Party spokesperson on Equality and Law Reform, Ms Jan O'Sullivan, has welcomed the report and its main proposals. "I would now also reiterate my call on the Minister to deliver on a referendum to amend the Constitution to enshrine the educational needs of people with special needs in the Constitution," she said.
Fine Gael's education spokes- man, Mr Michael Creed, accused the Minister for Education, Dr Woods, of failing to deliver to special needs children.