The Minister for Health has said she would like to publish the report into spinal surgeries at CHI Temple Street, but there are legal issues around that.
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is appearing before Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health.
Asked by Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Health David Cullinane when did the HSE received the Phase 1 report, Minister Carroll MacNeill said it was in September 2025.
She said the HSE was prevented from sharing the report with her due to High Court proceedings, which she not a party to, and the first time the HSE was able to share it with her was last week.
Deputy Cullinane said the parents were the last to know again.
“We don’t know what its recommendations or findings are … but they again have to find out that you have that report, from the media. I find that scandalous minister,” he said.
Minister Carroll MacNeill agreed this was not right and said she would try to find out how it happened.
Minister Carroll MacNeill has written to around 60 families affected by children’s spinal surgery operations there. The families may be offered follow-up consultations with doctors.
She said the letters were sent to parents last night and this was as tight a time frame as was possible and said she agreed with Mr Cullinane that it was not good enough that parents found out about the report in a Sunday newspaper.
She said all letters had to be precise and correct, so it took time for the process to run.
“Trust is on the floor,” said Deputy Cullinane, who asked about whether the first phase of the report would be published.
Minister Carroll MacNeill said it was her wish that the report would be published, but that legal issues had to be examined.
Members of the committee were due to be briefed in private by the HSE on an independent review conducted by a UK expert into children’s spinal operations by one consultant at CHI Temple Street in Dublin.
It also emerged today that there will be a wider review into patient surgeries performed by the consultant concerned between 2013 and 2023.
The report into the consultant, who has been on voluntary leave since the issues arose, was conducted by Professor Selvadurai Nayagam, a consultant in orthopaedics and trauma in Liverpool.
The review was commissioned in 2023 after concerns about alleged high rates of post-operative complications, infections in orthopaedic surgeries, plus the alleged use of unapproved springs in surgeries by the consultant.
The HSE said at the time that the review was prompted after patient safety concerns were raised in 2022 by staff with senior CHI management, into a small number of children with spina bifida.
At the time 17, and then later 19 cases of concern were identified, plus other cases of alleged significant post surgical complications.
The independent Nayagam review is due to now move on to complete a second planned report into the culture in Temple Street hospital.
That report is expected to take a shorter time to complete than the first report.
The Government has already promised a statutory public inquiry into children’s spinal care.
Temple Street is one of three children’s hospitals due to move to the new National Children’s Hospital, which is expected to open towards the end of this year, or possibly early in 2027.
Over 10,000 outstanding defects at new National Children’s Hospital
Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill at the new National Children’s Hospital last December
Separately, the minister has given the committee a written update on the new National Children’s Hospital.
It says that builders BAM Ireland have still to deliver the contractual early access to the facility, which would amount to around 30% of the building.
At this stage, she says the State has been only able to access 429 of the 1,700 rooms intended for early access.
The minister has told the committee that she understands the project has been under-resourced by BAM from a staffing viewpoint.
Asked by Deputy Padraig Rice whether the new completion date would be met, Minister Carroll MacNeill said: “That’s up to BAM”.
“They really didn’t meet their commitments,” she added.
She says the design team identified over 175,000 defects for rectification by BAM, and that over 10,000 defects remain to be resolved, which include damage to floors, walls and ceilings, mechanical systems not installed correctly and leaks from services.
Some of the issues relate to building regulations and safety, including fire door rectification arising from the warping of doors and seals.
Access is now to be delivered in two phases and the revised substantial completion date for the new hospital is 30 April this year, the 18th time the date has shifted.
The minister says that the original substantial completion date was December 2022, which now represents a 40-month delay.
The update says that on 19 December last, BAM Ireland facilitated partial additional early access to the facility, confined to the Ward Block on Level 6, the ground-level car park outside the emergency department, two lifts and a stair core for access.
Since then, CHI and the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board have completed a deep clean of 360 rooms on level 6, have installed over 90% of the Electronic Health Record equipment, and have completed installation of all ICT equipment for Level 6.
The minister says that the deployment of around 3,000 pieces of medical and non-medical equipment was successfully completed last week.
But she noted that the contractual early access to around 30% of the building, which was committed to the previous minister, Stephen Donnelly in October 2024, has still to be fully delivered by BAM.