Simon Harris is under immense pressure across the country tonight, as momentum increases for him to resign over Harvey Morrison Sherratt’s passing.
It has emerged tonight that Harris spoke with the child’s mother this afternoon and that he said he will meet Harvey’s parents in the near future.
This all came about from earlier pressure on the Tanaiste to step down.
The grieving parents of Harvey Morrison Sherratt — a 9-yr-old boy who waited years for scoliosis surgery before his death — have demanded that former Health Minister Simon Harris step down, reports The Mirror.
Back in 2017, during his tenure as Minister for Health, Mr Harris vowed that no child in Ireland would wait longer than four months to receive scoliosis treatment.
Harvey, a young boy from Clondalkin, had severe scoliosis but endured a seven-year wait for the procedure, reports The Mirror.
In August last year, Harvey’s mother, Gillian Sherratt, discovered that her son had been taken off Children’s Health Ireland’s active scoliosis surgery waiting list — without the family being informed.
Although Harvey finally underwent surgery in December 2024, the severity of his spinal curve had worsened so much that a full correction was no longer possible, reports The Mirror.
He passed away on July 29 after a brief illness and years of suffering, during which he experienced constant pain and difficulty breathing. His devastated parents, Gillian and Stephen, shared the news of Harvey’s death, stating: “our little rockstar Harvey passed away in the arms of mum and dad.”
“In his short life Harvey faced more challenges than most, and was the bravest, strongest and most courageous boy. To know him was to love him, and he definitely left his mark on this world,” reports The Mirror.
A deeply emotional video from February 2024, showing Harvey struggling to breathe due to the curvature of his spine, was widely circulated on social media.
His story was also brought up in the Dáil as hundreds of children remain on HSE waiting lists, still needing essential scoliosis surgery, reports The Mirror.
Posting on X, Harvey’s parents reminded the public that “On September 18 Simon Harris promised to meet with myself and Stephen to discuss Harvey’s lack of care. 10 months on and that meeting never happened and now Harvey is gone.
“On the day we were celebrating Harvey’s short life and saying final goodbyes, he was posting selfies at his brother’s wedding. The same brother that supposedly is the reason Harris sees disability issues as a ‘top priority. In actual fact, he doesn’t care at all. Couldn’t even take the time to meet us when we were begging for help. We will never have another moment of peace, and we endeavour to ensure that anyone that failed Harvey doesn’t either,” reports The Mirror.
Now, Harvey’s mother Gillian has publicly called on Simon Harris to step down from his role, urging him to “please think as a parent of young children.”
In a heartfelt message shared online, she wrote: “While you make their breakfast, I stare at the open tin of formula that has sustained Harvey’s body for the last 8 years trying to decide what to do with it.
“While you tuck them into bed, I’m trying to decide if we should turn Harvey’s bedroom light off. While you shop for school clothes, I try to decide what to do with the large bag of new clothes I had just bought Harvey for school,” reports The Mirror.
“While you brush their teeth, I think about the little box of Harvey’s teeth I have sitting on his bookshelf. While you brush their hair, I think about how glad I am that Harvey had just got a hair cut so he looked his best in his casket. While you sit and watch TV at night, I sit and watch Harvey’s old shows so the house is filled with the noises it was when he was still with us. While you get them a drink, I think about how Harvey was begging us for a drink but we couldn’t give him one. While you create memories with your children, I think about how memories are all we have left, and any future memories made will always have a void. While you kiss them goodbye for the day, I think about when I kissed Harvey goodbye for the last time,” reports The Mirror.
Stephen Morrison, Harvey’s father, wrote: “For years I have been saying what will it take for an investigation into [Children’s Health Ireland] ‘The death of another child.’ Never in a million years did I think it would be Harvey,” reports The Mirror.
“Harvey was definitely unique,” his father added. “But what isn’t unique is the way he and other children and people with disabilities are being failed. It is up to us to stop it,” reports The Mirror.
The family has been using the hashtags #ResignHarris and #JusticeForHarvey in their online posts.
Requests for comment have been sent to both Simon Harris’ Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Health, reports The Mirror.
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