This article argues that TD v Minister for Education was about something more specific than has been supposed in the academic literature. Rather than being about the justiciability of socio-economic rights in principle, or the separation of powers broadly, it was an appeal about whether a High Court judge had the jurisdiction to hand down a very particular order: one concerning particular high-support units, in particular locations, and by particular deadlines.
The article argues that the ruling in TD, when understood as such, can be readily justified as a matter of constitutional principle, and can also be reconciled with the much more considered analysis of judicial review of executive power in Elijah Burke v Minister for Education. It concludes that TD can be ‘read down’ in future, fading into its rightful place in the background of Irish constitutional law.