Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like once again to extend my condolences to the families of the women Deputy Clare Daly mentioned. As she is aware, I met some of those families when I was Minister for Health and I know they still suffer every day from the loss of their loved ones and as a result of the traumatic events that occurred to them. My sympathies and those of the House are with the families.

Ireland is one of the safest countries in the world in which to give birth, both in terms of maternal mortality and neonatal mortality. However, that should not give rise to complacency in any way because we need to ensure that the number of maternal deaths and neonatal deaths is minimised. It is never possible to eliminate them entirely but they can be reduced further and minimised. Any time a maternal death occurs, there should be total transparency. Hospitals should be upfront about what happens and should carry out full investigations so that lessons can be learned and further events avoided into the future.

In terms of the actions of the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, Deputy Clare Daly will know that he has sought an independent review of the Thawley case, and the Government is totally behind him in that regard. We are very disappointed and dissatisfied that Holles Street hospital is threatening to take the Minister or the HSE to court in order to avoid an external inquiry. There should be an external inquiry. Rather than trying to block it, the hospital authorities should welcome it. If they have nothing to hide, they should welcome it. We are totally behind the Minister in that regard.

Legislation was passed in recent months to provide for open disclosure. As a result, for the first time open disclosure by doctors and other health care professionals is protected. I know that was a long time coming but it has now been done and it is important that we turn this legal mechanism into a culture and a practice across our hospitals whereby doctors and health care professionals are upfront with patients and their families when something goes wrong and understand why it is in their interest to be upfront. We know that is the case for many different reasons.

In terms of inquests, that legislation is under consideration.

There are strong arguments in favour of a mandatory inquest in the case of every maternal death but there may be cases in which that is not appropriate, for example, where a family does not want one. We have cases of maternal death where it is known immediately why the mother died. An inquest may not be necessary in such cases. However, there is a strong basis for a mandatory inquest where the family requests it.

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