Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said the Government will ensure that a promised inquiry into the care of spina bifida and scoliosis patients at Children's Health Ireland (CHI) is "effective" as well as being "transparent and public".
He told the Dáil that the "precise nature" of the inquiry had yet to be decided upon, and the Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill would "reflect" on what is a "very, very serious issue" and discuss the issues with the families of the children involved.
Mr Martin said Ireland does have to do "much better" when it comes to the provision of health services for children, and he "understood the anger" of parents whose waiting for surgery.
He was replying to the Labour leader, Ivana Bacik, who declared that "nothing less than a statutory public inquiry will do".
She praised the "brave" parents of Harvey Morrison, Stephen Morrison and Gillian Sherratt, whose nine-year-old boy died in July after "waiting for years" for surgery to treat his spina bifida and scoliosis.
The Dublin Bay South TD said this was "no time for false promises" from the Government.
She added that the healthcare system needed to be managed to ensure it was focused on patient need, rather than institutional need, adding it was essential that CHI was amalgamated with the HSE.
Mr Martin said he supported that decision as it made "absolute sense".
It comes after Ms Sheratt said an inquiry into the care of spina bifida and scoliosis patients at CHI, should be a public statutory inquiry.
Harvey Morrison's parents said he only got a spinal operation last November when the curve in his spine had reached 130 degrees.
Last year, they said that he had been removed from a CHI waiting list for urgent scoliosis surgery without their consent or knowledge. He was first placed on the waiting list in February 2022.
He died on 29 July.
Ms Sherratt met with Tánaiste Simon Harris and Minister MacNeill yesterday, where the inquiry was promised.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Sherratt said: "The type of inquiry hasn't yet been set in stone, but what they have committed to is that there will be an inquiry into CHI, spina bifida and scoliosis care.
"The terms of reference and the scope of that will be up to the parental advocacy groups and the parents actually using the service.
"It would be our opinion that it should be a public statutory inquiry, because we need to ensure that it is comprehensive and wide enough to uncover everything it needs to uncover, and that people can be held to account."
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Ms Sherratt said the Government did not commit to a public and statutory inquiry, and did not have any new information in relation to Harvey's removal from the emergency surgery list.
"We've tried repeatedly to get that information from the taskforce that was set up, but to this day we still have no more information as to why he was removed or who made the decision," she said.
Ms Sherratt said she felt like she was listened to in the meeting, but was unsure if any changes will come as a result.
"We felt like there was a lot that needed to be said. We went into it, and we very much asked that they just allowed us to speak because we've been trying to get this meeting for so long," she said.
"We had a lot that we've needed them to actually hear. We felt like they did listen, but at the same time, there have been previous promises from government and from ministers that haven't been met. So, we're cautiously optimistic.
"But I do feel like they listened. Whether or not that will bring around the changes that we need to see is a different story."
Ms Sherratt said that the focus now had to be on ensuring that children receive the appropriate care from the State going forward.
"That's ultimately one of the reasons why we are more focused on getting an inquiry and getting the changes that we need because ultimately, Simon Harris resigning doesn't help these children," she said.
"While it might be something that we would call for, it does nothing to benefit the children that are still relying on the State and relying on Children's Health Ireland and the HSE to help them.
"That needs to be our priority and that needs to be our focus," she added.
Asked about the terms of reference for the inquiry, Labour TD Marie Sherlock said previous answers given by CHI "gave her grave concern because of ambiguity and the lack of clarity".
She said medical staff involved in children's care will also have to partake in the inquiry.
"Our call is very much that the senior clinicians and staff would meaningfully participate in this process. If there is failure to do so, then I think the minister will have to reserve the right to take other options," she said.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said it is concerning that the Government has not yet confirmed that it will conduct an inquiry.
Mr Murphy said that it suggests that there may be a dispute or a lack of clarity within the Government on agreeing for it to take place.
"We'll be pressing them to say we need clear statements. They [Harvey's parents] were confident enough on that impression to go and speak to the media and say 'we have this agreement'.
"Obviously, it's going to be a process to work out the details, but it is a bit concerning that the Government hasn't made any public statements confirming that so far," said Mr Murphy.
