State’s appeal from Irish High Court decision holding that the Irish Government had a constitutional obligation to provide free primary education to a man with severe mental and physical disabilities as long as he was capable of benefitting from such education.
The numerous deficiencies in the provision of education of disabled children in Ireland have still not been adequately addressed since this decision. Although this decision did play a part in bringing about the enactment of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act, 2004 and the Disability Act 2005, both of which purport to address the educational needs of children with disabilities, both Acts have consistently been criticised by disability activists for their limited nature and for lack of compliance.
The case was significant in two key respects: (i) the Supreme Court limited the scope of the right to education to the age of 18; and (ii) a majority of the Supreme Court effectively held that only in the most extreme cases would the courts enforce positive obligations on the state. This decision clearly undermined the prospects for progressive jurisprudence on socio-economic rights under the Irish Constitution.