Up to 150 parents with legal actions lodged against the State over the right to education for their special needs children are reconsidering going to court following a ruling in the High Court yesterday.
The court found that the parents of a seven-year-old boy, who lost their case to force the State to provide him with applied behavioural analysis, (ABA) tuition, were not entitled to legal costs.
The overall cost of the case, which ran in the High Court for 69 days, is estimated at €5 million.
Cian and Yvonne Ó Cuanacháin said yesterday that their child now faced a bleak future and the scale of the legal bill meant that they could lose their home in Arklow, Co Wicklow.
"We've spent tens of thousands over the last five years trying to make up the difference in the services that the State never provided for him. Now with this cost issue, we're not even in a position where we can do that privately," said Ms Ó Cuanacháin. Her husband, a software engineer, added: "We're not wealthy people, the house is at risk - it's the only asset we have."
Their son, Seán, is receiving ABA tuition at a school in Wicklow which is funded by donations from the public and the State, although the Department of Education has refused to provide longer-term funding. A spokesman for Minister for Education Mary Hanafin declined to comment on the case yesterday.
Up to 150 parents have similar cases against the State. However, Marc de Salvo, of Irish Autism Action, said many may not now go to court due to the risk of facing a massive legal bill. "Parents only go to court if they have exhausted every other route and their backs are completely up against the wall. Now, if someone goes this route, they face the additional stress of major costs."
Disability rights campaigner and MEP Kathy Sinnott said it was inexplicable that the State was not liable for the legal costs given that Seán Ó Cuanacháin was not able to get education services when he needed them.
"Last May, the judge acknowledged Seán had been damaged during the years of early intervention he lost out on while in HSE services, but despite this he still expects the family to pay millions of euro in costs. This should never have happened," Ms Sinnott said.