In a recent decision by the WRC, The WRC ruled that the exclusion of a blind student from the Summer Provision Scheme constituted disability discrimination.
The case concerned a blind secondary school student represented by FLAC. The student had missed several weeks of school in 2020 due a variety of reasons. He noted how difficult it was to catch up once fallen behind. The student was excluded from the Summer Provision Scheme (formerly known as the July Provision Scheme) which was an administrative programme where students with additional needs may access educations supports during the summer holidays.
The student made a discrimination complaint to the WRC about his exclusion from the Scheme as well as the school's failure to provide him with additional supports during the Covid-19 school closures. The WRC upheld his complaint about the exclusion from the Scheme and ordered the Department of Education to pay him in compensation. The WRC also held that the student was not provided with reasonable accommodations to support his education during school closures.
FLAC Managing Solicitor, Sinéad Lucey commented:
“The decision of the WRC in this case is a testament to the bravery and resilience of our client and his mother and advocate, Eithne Walsh. It also includes a number of important legal findings.
The Minister argued that the WRC could not hear complaints about Government policy decisions or the allocation of resources. These objections were rejected by the WRC Adjudicator. The WRC’s ruling firmly establishes that a public body cannot rely on a claim that its actions involve decisions on spending public funds to justify a form of discrimination.
The recent expansion of the Summer Provision Scheme to include blind secondary school students is welcome. We hope that a proper application of anti-discrimination law and the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty will inform all future policy developments in this area.”