The appalling failure of children's scoliosis and spina bifida services is a shameful indictment of this and successive Governments. For years, the harrowing stories of children left to wait in agony for their operations has been a distressing feature of debate here in the Dáil, yet the Government has never matched its promises with the actions needed. Heartbroken parents have been forced to watch their children suffer and deteriorate, robbed of a normal childhood, racing against the clock with a fear of becoming inoperable. Parents are forced to pour out their anguish in the media just to get the Government to pay attention. These parents have shown enormous bravery, a courage and fight that only the love for one's child can inspire. The cases of some of these children have provoked widespread public shock and anger. I am thinking of Harvey Morrison Sherratt, Mikey Henry-Benson, Daniel Collins, and of course, more recently, little Roxanne Kelly. Their stories spoke to the awful experiences of hundreds more children left to wait and suffer. It is now eight years since Simon Harris promised that no child would wait for longer than four months for spinal surgery, a promise broken repeatedly. Today, children are still left in desperate and dreadful situations. The family of seven-year-old Roxanne Kelly were left to fundraise so they can take her to America to get the scoliosis surgery she so badly needs. No child and no family should be forced to do this. The backdrop to the suffering of these children and families is the litany of scandals at Children's Health Ireland. This includes the use of unauthorised springs in surgeries on children and the carrying-out of unnecessary hip surgeries on children as young as seven. Children were failed catastrophically and public confidence shattered, not only in that organisation but also in the Government's basic ability to oversee the provision of children's healthcare. These failures sparked major reviews into practices at CHI, and it is disgraceful that families were left to learn of the completion of phase 1 of the Nayagam review in a Sunday newspaper last month even though the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, had been briefed days before and the HSE had received the completed report last September. The Minister hiding behind technicalities and refusing to publish phase 1 of the report is just unacceptable. It should be published immediately, and parents are entitled to know what it contains. Is drochtheist ar Rialtas i ndiaidh Rialtas é an teip ar leanaí le scolóis agus spina bifida. Ní mór don iniúchadh poiblí ar Sláinte Leanaí Éireann muinín na dtuismitheoirí a bheith aige. Caithfidh sé a bheith dírithe agus múnlaithe ag taithí agus riachtanais na leanaí agus na dteaghlaigh atá buailte leis seo. The death of nine-year-old Harvey Morrison Sherratt last July was a tipping point. His heartbroken parents endured not only his loss but also the revelation that he had been removed from the surgery waiting list without their knowledge or consent. Through their grief, Gillian and Stephen along with other parents fought for a public inquiry into Children's Health Ireland. This demand was finally secured in a meeting with the Tánaiste, Simon Harris, and the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, last November. However, four months on, parents and advocacy groups have real concerns about the Government backsliding on its commitments. Delays in producing the terms of reference and a lack of clarity regarding the role of the facilitator have stoked real worries. The Minister has now appointed a facilitator for the scoping exercise that will inform the terms of reference. We need to be very clear this evening. This must be a full public inquiry. It cannot be directed by Simon Harris or, indeed, by the Minister. It must be shaped primarily by the experiences of those impacted by the failures at CHI. The Government committed to equal partnership and to working with parents to get the terms of reference right, and that must be delivered - no railroading, no stonewalling, no whitewash, just transparency, truth and accountability. That is what the children affected and their families deserve. Those children waiting for surgery need the Government to match its promise of change with action on capacity, resources and funding. They do not need lip service or excuses; they need their operations.

Sentiment score: -0.25