Overview

• A Government motion of confidence in Simon Harris will be debated and voted on in the Dáil this afternoon, with coalition numbers reported as sufficient to pass.
• The move pre-empts Aontú’s planned no-confidence motion, as the party accuses Mr Harris of failing on children’s spinal surgery and calls for his resignation.
• Opposition pressure intensified after prolonged waits for paediatric spinal care and the death of Harvey Sherratt, whose case has become a focal point for critics.
• Mr Harris has requested a full multidisciplinary report on Harvey’s care timeline, and he and Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill met Harvey’s parents in recent weeks.
• Aontú points to Harris’s 2017 pledge that no child would wait over four months for scoliosis treatment and to wider CHI controversies including non-surgical spring implants, unnecessary hip surgeries and records-security concerns.