Government rows back on promise to hold tribunal into scoliosis and spinal surgery scandal
The Government previously told advocacy groups it would hold a tribunal of inquiry into the scoliosis and spinal surgery scandal , but rowed back on it last month, documents show. The Government announced last month the statutory inquiry into spina bifida and scoliosis services would be a commission of investigation, which means it would be largely conducted in private. However, last year, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, Tánaiste Simon Harris , Department of Health officials and advocacy groups held a meeting following a number of controversies at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI). These included unauthorised implantation of springs in children with scoliosis, alleged waiting list irregularities and unnecessary hip surgeries. Advocacy groups met policymakers on a number of occasions last year to call for the inquiry, which got significant public attention following the death of nine-year-old Harvey Morrison Sherratt , who had scoliosis and other health issues. Minutes of the November 12th meeting, published by the Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Paediatric Advocacy Group, show Carroll MacNeill and Harris had “no settled view of the form that the inquiry would take”. However, intensive discussions continued and, by the end of the meeting, Carroll MacNeill said the “interests of children is paramount”. “She then stated that she would bring a memo to Government informing them of her intention to establish a statutory public inquiry, that would be, in principle, a tribunal of inquiry,” minutes of the meeting state. ‘Great frustration’ only 19 children treated abroad for spinal surgeries, Dáil hears “She would also appoint a mediator to discuss terms of reference, and that this will have the interests of children paramount. She would then sigh off on the terms of reference. She intends to bring this to Cabinet next week.” The meeting minutes note that it was agreed a mediator would be agreed by both sides. Advocacy groups have repeatedly called for the inquiry to take the form of a tribunal, which would be held in public. However, following the announcement, the Government appointed senior counsel Remy Farrell to lead a scoping exercise for the inquiry. Last month, he recommended a commission of investigation taken place, and that the inquiry would examine the period from January 1st, 2019, to December 31st last. It should be divided into four distinct “modules”, the report said: waiting lists, spinal surgery, hip dysplasia and the Crumlin orphans. A statement from the advocacy group said: “At no point during today’s Dáil statements did the Minister explain why she departed from the pathway agreed with families on 12 November 2025. She had an opportunity to explain that decision, acknowledge the breakdown in trust and bring families with her. She did not take it. “We are now calling for an independent mediator, agreed by both sides, to be appointed so that meaningful engagement can begin again. Families have spent years fighting for answers. They should not have to fight the Government for a credible inquiry into the harm their children have experienced.” Speaking in the Dáil on Thursday, Sinn Féin’s health spokesman David Cullinane said the record of a meeting in November last year with groups representing affected families, showed the Minister “intended to bring forward a statutory public inquiry, which would in principle be a tribunal of inquiry”. He said agreement was reached that a mediator would work on the terms reference and the minutes also state it was accepted the mediator would “be agreed by both sides”. There was also discussion about an independent clinical expert not connected to CHI, he said but “the families and advocacy group say the facilitator was not agreed with them and the independent clinical expert discussed at the meeting was not appointed”. He told the Minister “the families say that the further meaningful engagement they expected never happened”. The Waterford TD said “what is missing here is a requirement for transparent public giving of evidence”. While some parents may be able to give evidence publicly “what is missing” is that senior decision makers and people under scrutiny for their actions “will not be required to account for account for themselves in the same public way”. “That’s a real difficulty. If the inquiry is to rebuild trust that can be no hiding places for anybody,” he insisted. Social Democrats health spokesman Pádraig Rice called on the Minister to appoint a mediator “as there clearly is an impasse”. The advocacy groups wrote to both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste and want a “constructive way forward and the appointment of a mutually agreed mediator to resolve the impasse between Government and the families” and restore confidence in the process, he said. Chairman of the Oireachtas Health committee, he urged the Minister to heed that call and appoint a mediator and said “it’s not too late”. There is a “real strong difference of opinion” between families and the Minister, he said, and “the families and children affected deserve the best inquiry possible”. In response, the minister said she was “aware of calls for a tribunal of inquiry as opposed to a commission of investigation”. However, the scoping process found “a commission can deliver the same statutory powers as a tribunal” and “there was a significant risk in his view that children may be identifiable, even where anonymised”.