I want to raise the issue of the planned inquiry into the State's care of children with spina bifida and scoliosis, following the recent publication of the scoping exercise report.

It is clear from the initial reaction to the report that many families and campaign groups have serious concerns about how it is structured, the proposed structure and the terms of reference of the inquiry. It is critical that the inquiry commands the confidence of the affected families. They have suffered enough and if it does not, it simply will not answer the questions we need answered. The whole purpose of the inquiry is to deliver truth, justice and accountability for those affected. If the structure of the inquiry does not have buy-in from the families, we are failing them at the first hurdle.

Families have many unanswered questions and concerns. They have been consistent in their call for a public inquiry. The Minister for Health said that some elements of the commission could be held in public but we need more clarity and engagement with families in that respect. The narrow scope of the proposed commission of investigation is also a concern for many and something the Government needs to address. Why is the proposed remit only to investigate cases between 2019 and 2025? There was a crisis in spina bifida and scoliosis care long before 2019; it goes all the way back to 2000. Many children and families whom the State failed before 2019 are excluded. It will deny countless families access to truth and justice the inquiry purports to deliver. That is supposedly the objective of the inquiry. The exclusion of so many cases seems to go against that ethos.

The inquiry has to deliver a comprehensive examination of what happened to these children. It must be truly child-centred. That is why the Minister should not move forward with drafting the terms of reference without answering these concerns. Last March, she undertook to ensure the voices of families would be central to the process yet families were informed of the briefing on the scoping report at the eleventh hour. Some had even previously pulled out due to documents on their own children's care being withhold from them. They felt they could not go forward without that transparency. Families need to buy into this process or the whole thing is for show and does not deliver true justice.