Father of autistic child wins €30,000

The Department of Education has agreed to pay €30,000 to the parent of an autistic child who was forced to hire a tutor to teach his daughter.

The Government had initially challenged Mark de Silvo’s request for compensation, but the two parties settled their case today.

Mr de Silvo, from Cellbridge in Co Kildare, found that there were no education services available for his autistic daughter in May 2000, so he hired a personal tutor.

The Government subsequently funded the construction of a school to teach 12 autistic children in Co Kildare.