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AMID CALLS FOR Simon Harris’ resignation, Enterprise Minister Peter Burke said today that he “absolutely” supports the Tánaiste.
The Fine Gael minister said Harris is “full of compassion” and “empathy” and expressed support for his party leader after more than 1,000 people marched through the streets of Dublin in support of a young child who died after dealing with long delays for scoliosis surgery.
Nine-year-old Harvey Morrison Sherratt, who had scoliosis and spina bifida, died on July 29.
His parents, Stephen Morrison and Gillian Sherratt, said their son waited years for spinal surgery, during which time the curve in his spine went from 75 degrees to 130 degrees.
By the time Harvey received spinal surgery last December, the curve had reached the point where it could not be fully corrected.
The curve caused his rib cage to twist around his lungs and heart, severely restricting his breathing.
His parents, opposition politicians and campaigners have called for Tánaiste Simon Harris to step down after he pledged in 2017, while he was Minister for Health, that no child would wait more than four months for scoliosis treatment.
Yesterday, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill – who is also in the Fine Gael party – referenced the rally and said: “There are many ways our society can and should do better by its citizens.
“We can, we must and we will do better. This is the essence of politics and always will be.”
The comment received media attention as it fuelled speculation that MacNeill was making an indirect criticism of her party leader.
Comments yesterday by Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill about the death of Harvey Morrison Sherratt were seen by some in FG as a veiled criticism of Simon Harris.
— Jane Matthews (@janeematthews) August 25, 2025
Despite the mounting pressure on Harris, Minister Peter Burke said he continues to have his support. pic.twitter.com/s92TYrM7Zc
Asked today by The Journal whether he supported Harris in the wake of the comments, Burke said: “Absolutely, I support the Tánaiste but first of all, we have to be very much aware that we have a family grieving here.
“I know as a father of two young children, it would be incomprehensible to lose one of them and to see what the family are going through now – Stephen and [Gillian] – it is incredible, how fair they’ve been, I have to say.
“And I really give them my support too. It is, you know, one area we have to get better at resolving.”
The minister added: “I think the Tánaiste is full of compassion, full of empathy. He’s a dad too, he’s a husband.
“He knows the pressures that families are under, and he wants to do better.
“I want to do better, and the government wants to do better in this area – and quite frankly, we have to.”
Burke added that a lot of clinical resources have been put into the HSE to deal with the waiting lists and that the results of this have not been seen yet.
“We really need to see more progress now, and that’s one thing we’ll be really focused on as a Government,” he said.
Speaking at the march on Saturday, Úna Keightley, the co-lead of the Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Paediatric Advocacy group, called for a statutory inquiry into the treatment of children at Children’s Health Ireland.
In a statement issued by Harvey’s parents last week, Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrisson said that they hold Harris accountable for his failure to keep the promise he made when he was Health Minister in 2017 and for his failure to meet with them to discuss Harvey’s case while their child was alive.
They said that anyone who is holding Harris directly responsible for their child’s death is doing so “against our own wishes”.
“Our issue with him is purely political and not personal. For anyone commenting on his posts or Government posts and calling for #JusticeForHarvey, we ask that if you are using Harvey’s name that you do so in a respectful way,” they said.
Includes reporting from Cillian Sherlock, Press Association.
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