The HSE audit also revealed that targets for reducing waiting lists for children for spinal surgery are not being met

The Taoiseach said there was not a ‘lever’ he could pull to ensure a child got spinal surgery, which he said was a ‘clinical matter’.

A High Court judge has said that the health of a young girl at the centre of a legal row over the disclosure of medical records in relation to her spinal surgery should be "to the forefront"