Ms Cathriona Molloy:

We put up the Patient Focus number on RTE. As soon as the programme was over, we got an e-mail every time somebody left a phone message. The e-mails were flooding in and it is difficult to express the grief shown in them. We were shocked by the response and the fact that the HSE did not recognise it is scary. The battle patients face to get answers was wrong and disgraceful. The balance of power is weighed towards the professionals, not patients. It is those who are investigated who are listened to. Blocks are put in the way of those seeking answers.

I met Róisín and Mark Molloy in June 2012. When I returned home the next day, a Saturday, and spoke to Ms O'Connor on the telephone, I told her that there were problems in the hospital. I said the same to my husband, who came with me that day. I said I was extremely concerned about the situation because it was like hearing similar stories all over again. I took two memories away with me that day.

The first is of listening to Mark describe standing in the theatre when baby Mark was being born and the second is of Róisín sitting on the stairs waiting to get a letter with answers. How can that be justified by anyone?

Patient Focus has been doing this for such a long time and we know that there are complaints in all maternity and general hospitals and the community. Ours is a small organisation of four people with a very limited budget. We do the job on a shoestring and the only reason we do it is we are passionate about it. A person could not do this on a nine-to-five basis. We work nights and weekends and jump to the support of people because that is what we want to do. Then we hear what happened to Ollie and Amy, Joshua Keyes and baby Katelyn. To be clear, the way we found out there were two other reviews carried out at Portlaoise hospital of the deaths of Joshua Keyes and baby Katelyn was through the legal process of the inquest. The HSE's barrister had to hand over the reviews. He handed over the one that mentioned baby Joshua, but the others were blacked out. We knew that there were two other babies, but families were not notified. When the "Prime Time" programme was broadcast, they were told it was because of social circumstances that they were not told. Everyone has a right to be told if there is an adverse incident.

This committee has power. It must never allow this to happen again. It is just not on and not good enough that this continues to happen and patients have such little power.