In recent days a national scandal has been unfolding in relation to the most medically compromised children in this country. It relates to wholly adequate health services provided for them, and in the case of some of those children really serious adverse outcomes including the tragic death of one child. There is no transparency about what is going on here. All we have got is obfuscation. We have heard little or nothing from the Minister for Health. The Minister for Health needs to return to this country urgently. I ask that he presents himself here tomorrow to make statements on this scandal and to answer questions from Members of this House because we cannot get answers to questions from anywhere else.

The other thing I am asking for is the publication of the two reviews that have already been completed for several months now, which outline scores of recommendations about what needs to be done.

One of those reviews - the external review - was in fact requested by the consultant at the centre of this scandal. I ask that those two reviews be published today. We cannot have this whole issue being swept under the carpet and no transparency whatsoever about it. The Minister is accountable for this, but the Government is responsible for answering questions and making those two reviews available. Publish them now.

The Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, is in New York. He does not need to take a bite out of the Big Apple at this moment in time. He needs to be back here. He needs to be in this Dáil tomorrow to make a statement and take questions about the spinal surgery scandal.

The Minister for Health needs to be here. He needs to answer questions. We can read in the media that the families of the children who have been left waiting despite all of the promises and have been drip-fed information, as is the form with this Government, want information. The man who can provide that is the Minister for Health. He should be here. There should be nothing more pressing on his agenda.

I would like to shed some light on the issues that have been raised, if I can. I know the Minister for Health is not here. I have been in contact with him. He is more than willing to make himself available early next week, at the earliest opportunity, to take questions in the Dáil. I do not think he will be able to be back by tomorrow, given the commitments he has already given in New York, but he is anxious to be back to answer questions.

I would like to answer some of those questions if I can now, in particular on the issue of the reports. First, I want to extend my sympathy to the patients and many of the families who have been impacted. I am more than aware that they are not looking for sympathy from me; rather, they are looking for answers. Some of the parents I have heard speak on media in the past 48 hours have used terms like "sickened", "disgusted", "angry" and, perhaps most importantly, "frightened" in terms of the treatment their children may have received. We have an obligation to put all of the information in the public domain as comprehensively as we can and to work with families to make sure we forge a way forward that gives them reassurance.

A comprehensive patient safety review and assurance process, overseen by the HSE and its chief clinical officer, Dr. Colm Henry, is now under way at Temple Street into elements of the paediatric orthopaedic surgery service there. The HSE has commissioned a UK expert, Mr. Nayagam, who is from a hospital in Liverpool, to lead an external review following the identification of a number of specific clinical and patient safety concerns. These concerns relate to the clinical outcomes of some complex spinal surgery, including what appears to be a higher than normal incidence of post-operative complications and infections and two serious surgical incidents.

It is important to say that we do not have all of the facts at this point in time, but we need to establish them. That is what this external review will do. The Medical Council will also be involved. There have been two key reports by CHI to date that have been referred to by Deputies - one internal report and an external report completed by Boston's Children Hospital. Neither has been published. Instead, CHI published a combined report which is its interpretation of the two existing reports. I do not believe that is good enough, and nor does the Government. The Government has insisted that CHI publish both reports in full and I hope it will do so as soon as today, but if not today certainly very shortly. I hope that will happen this evening.

In addition, the Minister for Health has asked that the external reviewer look at the wider paediatric orthopaedic service, and governance and other operational matters across the entire service. The Minister will meet the reviewer, Mr. Nayagam, shortly. He will, of course, meet patient representatives and families before we proceed further.

What about An Garda Síochána? The Minister forgot about that.

I will be much briefer on this. The Garda Commissioner is meeting the Garda representative bodies tomorrow and I hope we will be able to make some progress on the roster issue leading from those meetings.

While I appreciate the Minister's response regarding the disgraceful situation with the children and young people at the hospital, he had a debate instead of providing information on the Order of Business. If we did that during the Order of Business, the Ceann Comhairle would be very quick to jump on us and say we were making statements and having a debate. The response to this question should rightly be given in a debate here and the Government should agree time for such a debate as a matter of urgency because this situation is urgent. I do not appreciate it being done through the Order of Business like this. That is wrong.

I cannot dictate to whoever is taking the Order of Business what they do or do not say.

It was a five-minute speech.

It does not allow for statements.

It is not within my power to direct-----

I would like to respond to that criticism. I am trying to be helpful to the House. This issue is of great concern to a lot of people. The Minister for Health is not here. My understanding is that he will be back and will make himself available on Tuesday, 26 September for questions in this House. In an attempt to provide some clarity in response to some of the questions that have been asked today, I have put on the record of the House how the Government is responding to it as of today.