Minister for Health James Reilly became emotional in the Dáil as he replied to a topical issue debate about the deaths of four babies at Portlaoise General Hospital.

Dr Reilly was responding to questions from six TDs about the tragedies at the hospital over a six-year period and the lessons to be learnt.

His voice broke as he thanked the three families he met on Sunday. “To Roisín and Mark, Shaun and Joey and Natasha I want to say thank you for the time you gave me to tell your stories and your concerns. They will be addressed and addressed in full.”

The Minister said he had asked the HSE to bring forward the Patient Safety Agency on an administrative basis and reiterated comments he made last week that "if ever there was a case which demonstrates the need for a patient safety agency this is it".

Dr Reilly also stressed: “We will use this to address the problems and fix Portlaoise hospital not to downgrade it and I give that assurance.”

He reiterated that he found very disturbing the “way in which patients’ families were dealt with by the hospital and HSE. That has to change and it’s going to change.”

The Minister referred to his meetings with three of the families involved “to offer my sympathies personally and to hear their individual stories. The meetings were, I believe,very constructive and I’m indebted to the families for speaking to me in an open and honest manner.

“I have assured the families that the process will be transparent, that they will be involved and they will have the opportunity to see the report in advance of its release.”

Dr Reilly said the findings of the report “will inform the terms of reference of any subsequent Hiqa review into this issue and there will be a review”.

He added that the Department of Health was working on the development of a new maternity strategy which he hoped would be ready by the end of the year, to ensure Ireland's maternity services "will be fit for purpose according to the best international standards".