The planned commission of investigation into significant delays for child scoliosis and spina bifida surgeries must not "airbrush" out promises made by Simon Harris in 2017 when he was minister for health, an opposition TD has warned.
Social Democrats health spokesperson Pádraig Rice raised his concerns during the latest Dáil leaders questions debate, despite the Tánaiste insisting the timeline of the investigation was decided by an entirely independent scoping exercise.
On Monday, the Department of Health published a scoping exercise report led by senior counsel Remy Farrell, which was tasked with drawing up the terms of reference for a full investigation into the treatment and lengthy delays for children with scoliosis and spina bifida.
The scoping exercise report was agreed by Cabinet at the start of this year, at which time Government had promised a public inquiry would take place.
However, as first reported by RTÉ News on Saturday, the report has instead recommended a privately-held commission of investigation, an examination timeline of between January 2019 and April 2025, a focus on systems rather than individual cases, and that there could be delays to modules examining hips and spinal surgeries as existing reviews have yet to conclude.
While the terms of reference have been defended by Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, it has been heavily criticised by families and campaign groups as it will not include cases dating back to the early 2000s, will not be an investigation held fully in public and could see families who have already been waiting years for care wait longer for answers.
'One chance to get this right'
Raising the concerns in the Dáil today, Mr Rice said "we have one chance to get this right".
Warning circumstances falling outside this timeframe, including Mr Harris' period as Minister for Health between May 2016 and June 2020, when he promised in 2017 that no child would wait longer than four months for care by the end of the year, Mr Rice said this and other issues "cannot be airbrushed".
"The word scandal can sometimes be over-used in politics. But you must get this public inquiry right. After everything the families have gone through, surely it's the least they deserve," he said.
"This scoping report doesn't cut it, surely you can see that," Mr Rice added, before claiming the years falling outside the scope of the inquiry and the promises to address the situation will "now be erased from the inquiry, that is wrong and you know it".
Responding to the claims, the Tánaiste said the scoping exercise report was overseen by senior counsel Remy Farrell, who he described as a "very eminent" expert in his field.
The Fine Gael leader said "it is utterly wrong and legally wrong to suggest a commission of inquiry is held in private or mainly held in private" only, saying families who have been "through hell and back" will be able to speak in public or in private as they wish.
'No rigidity' with investigation
Mr Harris said there will be "no rigidity" with the investigation as "this is about getting this right", and that "ongoing engagement" will continue to take place with all families and campaign groups wishing to do so.
He said "everybody has a right to be heard, and to be heard in a way that works" for them.
However, Mr Rice responded by saying: "I read Remy Farrell's report from start to finish, and I spent the past couple of days speaking with families who are furious.
"They feel it's worse than they feared, and that this has the potential to be a farce."
Mr Rice concluded by asking "is there going to be further consultation" or a fully public inquiry, before claiming: "You know the vast majority of families pulled out of the inquiry [the initial scoping exercise] because they weren't given the information they wanted."
