Considerable work will be necessary before legislation to establish a statutory inquiry into paediatric scoliosis and spina bifida services can be introduced, according to the Taoiseach.
Micheál Martin said the Government approved a memo recommending a statutory public model of inquiry into services at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI).
He told Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald that “a time-bound scoping exercise” has to happen first.
“A facilitator will be appointed to scope potential terms of reference in collaboration with all involved, including advocates, parents and others.”
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A senior counsel will be then appointed and it will also involve the Attorney General’s office.
“Concluding terms of reference, the modality of an inquiry and the costs associated takes time, but we want it time-bound so it will be as efficient as it can be.”
Ms McDonald raised the issue in the Dáil in advance of a debate later this afternoon on the controversies involving CHI, and the case of the late Harvey Morrison Sherratt, which “exposes profound and systemic failures”. The nine-year-old “was left waiting years for essential spinal surgery, then removed from a waiting list without his parents’ knowledge or consent”.
Ms McDonald said Harvey’s experience was “by no means unique” as she asked when the legislation would be introduced. She called for confirmation that parents, families and advocacy groups will shape the terms of the inquiry.
She also called for confirmation that “whistleblower evidence that has come forward, and that goes to the very heart of what happened in this service, will form a core part of the inquiry’s work”.
The Dublin Central TD also asked, while the inquiry is being established, what immediate action the Government is taking to ensure “no other child is abandoned in the way that Harvey was”.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik said everyone is “concerned to ensure that the newly announced inquiry will be comprehensive and effective in getting to the root of the issues here”.
She said a twin-track approach is needed, “first to address the disgraceful failures in respect of children like Harvey, and second, to get a handle on what is continuing to happen for children in the system today”.
All TDs hear from families “who have been told their child requires surgery, yet are given no date, no confirmation of treatment and no offer of treatment abroad”, she said.
“We also need to hear whether further protected disclosures are being made and what is to happen to children on waiting lists now.”
Mr Martin stressed the importance of the terms of reference for the inquiry “because there needs to be some timeline to it, for the sake of all concerned. That’s an issue to be worked out.”
He said about 446 spinal procedures were completed to the end of October, an increase on last year. “But there is rising demand and over the same time frame, a total of 462 procedures were added to the waiting list.
“At the end of October 2025, about 68 per cent of patients on the active list were waiting less than six months, an improvement from this time last year, when about 56 per cent of patients were waiting less than six months.
“There are improvements happening, notwithstanding the very serious issues that we have to deal with. Some 6 per cent were waiting over 12 months, which is a significant improvement against this time last year, but, of course, that is too high,” he said.
