Tánaiste to meet mother of scoliosis patient Harvey Morrison Sherratt after boy’s death

Tánaiste requests full report on Harvey’s care as political pressure mounts and Aontú warns of a no-confidence motion

Simon Harris had promised in 2017 that no child will be waiting longer than four months for their scoliosis surgery in Ireland. File picture

Tánaiste Simon Harris has spoken to the mother of scoliosis patient Harvey Morrison Sherratt who died at the end of July, and they agreed to meet in the near future.

In the wake of Harvey's death, his parents, Gillian and Stephen, have called on Mr Harris to resign.

Harvey, aged nine, received spinal surgery for scoliosis last December, by which point his spine had curved to 130 degrees.

He had waited several years for surgery and became a focus of media and political campaigns following a 2017 pledge by then-health minister Mr Harris that no child would wait longer than four months for scoliosis surgery in Ireland.

Following the conversation, the Tánaiste requested, through the Minister for Health, a full multidisciplinary report on the timeline of care provided to Harvey.

It comes as Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said he will table a motion of no confidence in Mr Harris in October if another party does not do so.

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Mr Tóibín told reporters at Leinster House on Wednesday that although he has not spoken to Harvey’s parents, he supports their call for the Tánaiste to resign. He said Aontú will not have an option to table a motion of no confidence until October and vowed to do so if another party has not acted before then.

Mr Tóibín stated that he had asked Mr Harris to meet Harvey’s parents last September. “We have to have accountability in this country, and this is the most serious thing that can happen to a citizen,” he said.

“What is the threshold for accountability if we don't have accountability? In relation to this, I've sent a letter to the Cathaoirleach of the health committee, asking for the Cathaoirleach to call on the Tánaiste to appear before the health committee to answer questions.

“The key element in all of this is, actually, we have to learn in relation to what's going wrong so that this doesn't happen to other children. I've also called on the Tánaiste to do the honourable thing and to resign.”