Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-25
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Sorca Clarke (SF), Longford-Westmeath

What I find striking is the letter from the spina bifida and hydrocephalus paediatric advocacy group that states clearly, "We feel we have no other option but to withdraw from this scoping exercise". I find that deeply concerning. Trust is not built on promises; it is built on keeping them. These families were promised a child-centred, codesigned inquiry. Today, they say very clearly that promise has been broken. If the Government has nothing to hide, then let it hide nothing, honour the commitments that were made to these families and publish every unpublished report.
Every document and every unanswered letter sends the same message to these families that protection of the system matters more than uncovering the truth. Give families access to all the Children's Health Ireland, CHI, reports so that they can at least engage effectively. Let them see what happened. Let them see the truth and how it is that this came about because otherwise the Tánaiste cannot say that this will never happen again. They want this to never happen again. It is not too late to do the right thing. This is one issue where the Tánaiste needs to hold to his promises.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-25/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-25