This month marks eight years since the Tánaiste promised that no child would wait longer than four months for spinal surgery. It has been eight years since children and families were given hope, yet children are still left today in desperate, painful, terrible situations. Why? Because it was another promise broken. This is not just about statistics. This is about children growing in pain, families living in fear for their children and parents are forced to watch their child's spine curve further, while they wait in a system that continues to fail them. Parents and advocacy groups are deeply concerned about the commitments to an independent inquiry. We have seen delays and backsliding. We have seen a lack of clarity regarding the role. We still have no terms of reference. Families deserve transparency, certainty and respect. Instead, they are getting silence. What about phase 1 of the review into the care of children with scoliosis and spina bifida? The review has been completed and sitting with the HSE since September. The Minister was made aware of this report but families found out through a Sunday newspaper. What way is that to treat families? Families should have been informed in a proper, compassionate and understanding manner, not blindsided in the media. That was absolutely disgraceful. We then learned of the children left without a consultant and almost forgotten when services moved from Crumlin to Temple Street. How could anyone forget those children? How could any system allow that to happen? There must be full truth here, there must be accountability, and there must be no more internal reviews to gather dust and no more defensive briefings. Families deserve honesty. The HSE has confirmed that the concerns raised were serious enough to trigger a further review. More children's cases are being examined and that tells its own story. While reviews roll on, children remain in pain. At the end of January 2026, 229 children were on spinal surgery waiting lists compared to 230 at the end of January 2025. A total of 75 are waiting longer than three months. Behind every one of those numbers is a child missing school, missing sleep and missing out on being a child. I speak not only as a public representative but as someone who suffers from scoliosis myself. I am extremely lucky that my condition is not as severe as others. I know how to live with and I know how to work through it because I have no choice. It is progressive and it carries a lot of pain with it. No child should be forced to simply live with worsening pain because the Government cannot get its act together. We demand an independent statutory inquiry, with clear terms of reference and transparency. We need accountability and above all, timely care for every child who needs it. These families cannot wait and cannot endure another broken promise. The time for excuses is over and the time for action is now.

Sentiment score: -0.03