The Government has survived a motion of confidence in Tánaiste Simon Harris, with 94 TDs voting that they had confidence in Harris and and 65 voting that they did not.
The motion, brought forward by the Government coalition, followed Aontú’s plan to table a no-confidence motion next week. Speaking in the Dáil, Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said the move was prompted by what he described as failures in scoliosis and spina bifida care.
“If the death of a child is not enough to call a motion of no confidence, what is?” Tóibín asked.
He said he had promised the parents of Harvey Morrison Sherratt, who died earlier this year after long delays in accessing spinal surgery, that he would bring the motion at the earliest opportunity.
“If the continuous painful suffering of a child, of hundreds of children, if the disablement of hundreds of children is not reason enough for a motion of confidence, what the hell is?” he continued.
Tóibín cited the case of 22-year-old Kira Carberry from Longford, who developed severe scoliosis after long waits for surgery. He said she had been left in chronic pain and that her lungs were crushed due to the delay.
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns accused the Government of attempting to shield itself from criticism by bringing the motion forward.
She said that the Government was so fearful of a confidence vote that it altered the Dáil schedule to try to avoid scrutiny.
“It will drop everything to defend itself and shield itself from criticism.”
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald also told the Dáil she had no confidence in Harris, adding: “The families let down by you have no confidence either.”
“God hurry the day when you will be removed from power.”
McDonald accused the Tánaiste of breaking promises, saying his 2017 commitment that no child would wait more than four months for scoliosis surgery had left families with “false hope.”
“For your empty words and for giving false hope, you are the only person responsible,” she said.
“You were Minister for Health, making a serious commitment, and the buck stops with you and only you.”
Labour leader Ivana Bacik said her party could not support the motion, describing it as stemming from “a broken promise.”
She pointed to wider issues such as the national children’s hospital and childcare, calling them part of “a litany of broken promises.”
Responding to criticism, Harris said he had never claimed to be infallible but had always acted in good faith.
He expressed sympathy to the parents of Harvey Morrison Sherratt and said the Government was working on the structure of an inquiry into scoliosis and spina bifida services.
The Government’s decision to hold the confidence motion pre-empted Aontú’s planned no-confidence vote next week. Tóibín earlier accused the coalition of “a cheap cynical trick” aimed at limiting scrutiny during the presidential election campaign, calling the move “unprecedented.”
He said families had described “children living in continuous and extreme pain” and alleged “toxic management” within Children’s Health Ireland (CHI).
The issue of scoliosis surgery delays has drawn significant criticism since Harris’s 2017 pledge to reduce waiting times. A significant number of children are currently awaiting operations.
In February 2019, Harris also survived a Sinn Féin motion of no confidence as Health Minister by 58 votes to 53, with 37 abstentions.
When previously asked if he took responsibility for the scoliosis promise, Harris said he did.
Defending himself, Harris has argued that, by setting such an ambitious scoliosis target, the Department prioritised the issue and treated it with more urgency than they otherwise might have, even if the target itself was not achieved.