Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)

It important to speak on this issue on behalf of children and families who have been let down. I am devastated for them. Deputies across the House are angry and upset because what unfolded in our paediatric spinal service is not just some abstract policy failure. It is a human tragedy. It is a breach of trust. It is so profound that any parent would question how they would ever rely a system that left their own child waiting in pain again. I am glad the State is confronting this horrendous situation fully and, in particular confronting how we allowed children to suffer under our watch. I appreciate and respect the work the Minister is doing. She is clear and unapologetic in her statements. The country now knows of the heartbreaking story of Harvey Morrison Sherratt, a nine-year-old boy removed from an urgent spinal surgery waiting list without his parents' knowledge or consent. Parents were begging for answers that never came. Now those same parents live with their unthinkable grief. No parent in Ireland should ever fear that their child has simply vanished off a waiting list. No parent should be forced to battle a system that feels faceless, careless or evasive. No child should ever be left to suffer because of a broken system that could not protect them. That is exactly what happened.

In my previous contributions in this House, which I firmly stand over, I said that when the State asks families to trust us with their children, we must be worthy of that trust. In the case of Harvey and so many others, we were not. Now families across the paediatric spinal services understandably ask whether this will ever change. I know the Minister is committed to that change, to rebuilding that trust, to ensuring that our children receive the care they deserve. Progress has been made, additional clinics and a ring-fenced theatre, increased activity with 446 spinal procedures this year, reduced lists of long waiters. More children are being seen sooner. These reforms matter. I acknowledge the extraordinary staff who are pushing beyond all reasonable limits every day.

However, numbers will never balance the scales where there is the loss or ill treatment of a child. They cannot ease the fear, stress or the anguish families feel, watching their children deteriorate while surgery seems endlessly out of reach. Multiple reviews are under way, which the Minister highlighted them in her contribution. They will be important but reviews alone will not heal the trauma. Families need the truth, they need justice and they need a system that will not hide from the convenient ambiguity of fractured governance. That is why I am delighted at the Government's decision to move ahead with the full statutory inquiry, beginning with the facilitator to scope its terms of reference. It is not just welcome; it is essential. It must be thorough. It must place the voices of children and parents at the centre. We owe parents nothing less and we owe every family living in fear nothing less than reform. Reform cannot pause while the inquiry proceeds. Failures in communications must be fixed. The Minister noted these in her contribution as well. Clinical governance has to be tightened, not on paper but in practice.

No child must ever again be removed from a list without explanation and capacity must continue to expand so children are treated before harm becomes permanent.

I acknowledge the significant structural reform under way. In September, the Minister confirmed her intention to integrate Children's Health Ireland into the HSE. The decision follows careful reflection on the governance structures underpinning our health system, engagement with stakeholders and discussions with Government colleagues. It is really important. During previous contributions, Members spoke about how our faith in CHI had diminished.

Finally, I wish the Minister the very best as she takes on this work. This crisis was not of her making but it is absolutely in her hands now. I am confident she will bring this to a conclusion. I know she is committed to ensuring that families and children finally get the timely and proper care, as well as the answers, justice and decency that they deserve. While none of this is easy, the Minister has the determination to bring it through.

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