Tánaiste Simon Harris has come under intense pressure after posting a selfie from an Oasis concert amid public outrage over the tragic death of nine-year-old Harvey Morrison Sherratt.

Harvey died following delays in accessing urgent scoliosis surgery, highlighting a series of shamelessly broken promises over his treatment and other children with critical medical needs.

More than 30,000 people have now signed an online petition calling for Harris’s resignation, criticising him for flaunting an extravagant lifestyle while huge problems continue within the healthcare system he presided over as Minister. The petition described the Tánaiste’s actions as “a failure to show leadership at a time of national grief and concern.”

The controversy intensified after reports that Harris had been asked to meet the family of Harvey Morrison Sherratt amid calls for him to take responsibility.

The situation has sparked public anger about the failure to deliver healthcare resources amid a huge budget surplus, and has put Harris under pressure to resign.

Mary Lou McDonald, leader of Sinn Féin, said she had written to the Tánaiste, urging him to meet with Harvey’s grieving parents, who have warned that other scoliosis sufferers are also under threat.

“No family should have to endure what they have faced. It is time for urgent action to address the systemic neglect of children with serious medical conditions,” she said.

“We must look at how policies, funding, and hospital prioritisation are failing children in urgent need of care. This is a moral issue, not just a political one. Immediate reforms are needed to restore public trust in our healthcare system and to ensure that tragedies like Harvey’s do not happen again.”

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín called for Harris’s resignation and said he would turn the upcoming Presidential election into a referendum on Harris’s actions.

In a video posted to his Facebook account, he said: “It’s absolutely heartbreaking and unmanageable for any parents to lose their child. The fact that Harvey went through many years of pain and suffering because of his condition and the lack of treatment makes it even harder for his family.

“We have an incredible situation: in 2017, Simon Harris promised that no child would wait for more than four months for a scoliosis operation. However, Harvey waited for over eight years for an operation. Indeed, in recent years—this last year—the family found out that CHI had removed Harvey from the waiting list, incredibly, even though the curvature in his back had increased to 130 degrees.”

A demonstration march is to take place in Dublin in memory of the nine-year-old.

The protest, which will also highlight prolonged children’s spinal surgery waiting lists, is due to start at 2pm on Saturday, August 23rd, at the Garden of Remembrance, and finish at Custom House Quay.

Harvey Sherratt’s parents, Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrison, will attend the demonstration.

“We would appreciate if you all could join us as we march in protest for #JusticeForHarvey,” Ms Sherratt posted on X.

Ms Sherratt said she and her husband “will not stop” campaigning for adequate healthcare for children, particularly for those who urgently require it.

“We’re not going to go away,” said Ms Sherratt.

Asked what she wanted Harvey’s legacy to be, Ms Sherratt replied: “It literally should be, for these children to get the care that they are entitled to, and that they bloody deserve.”