Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This was an amendment the Government flagged to us earlier and I am sure we all will welcome it because where there is any question about the reasons for a baby dying, either during labour or otherwise, those questions need to be answered, not just for the family but also for the health service. As the Minister said, while the section is not providing for mandatory inquests into baby deaths, it does provide that they will be reportable and that other provisions of the Act will apply, such as the coroner being empowered to compel the handover of records and so on. I certainly hope that although the power is discretionary, its inclusion in this Bill will bring us to a safer position in our hospitals in circumstances like those suffered by the Reilly family, for example. The investigation into the death of their baby, Asha, took place a full 11 years after she died, thanks to the most appalling actions on the part of Portiuncula Hospital. I hope these measures will prevent that happening again.

It is important to put the importance of this legislation on the record. We constantly hear about the excellent quality of our maternity services but between 2007 and 2017, there were 31 inquests into baby deaths in the Republic of Ireland. In June 2016, the investigation of baby deaths in Portiuncula Hospital was only one of many. Seven out of the 19 maternity units at that time were either under independent investigation or involved in inquests. It is a very big issue and we need to learn the lessons.

The added trauma parents have to endure following the death of a baby, as we saw in hospitals like Portlaoise and Portiuncula, due to the stonewalling by hospitals is abhorrent. We know from the sample of 30 baby deaths due to negligence in Irish hospitals between 2008 and 2016 that in every single case where there is a record of an apology or a settlement, it was received three to nine years after the baby had died. In many instances there was a settlement with no admission of liability and no apology. The parents are on the record as describing the added trauma that caused to them.

I will not make those points again but it is a thread on this legislation that people deserve answers. It improves our health service and if one wants to be cynical about it, it potentially saves the State tens of millions of euro every year in legal fees. We have to move to a situation where we give people the information, tell them what they need to know and improve our services. The amendment is very important and I welcome it.