A couple whose baby boy died shortly after he was born at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise have settled their legal action against the Health Service Executive.
Mark and Róisín Molloy from Killeigh in Co Offaly sued the HSE in relation to the death of their fifth son, Mark Junior, who died on 24 January 2012.
Their case was highlighted in a programme by RTÉ's Investigations Unit: "Fatal Failures" in January this year.
The programme also highlighted the cases of a number of other babies who died at the hospital.
The High Court was told Mark died after a failure to act promptly when a foetal heart monitor showed he was in distress.
The Molloys said there was a failure to monitor the foetal heart rate during crucial periods.
An emergency Caesarean section was carried out too late. Mark was deprived of oxygen and died 22 minutes after being born.
Even though Mark was born alive, the hospital recorded the death as a stillbirth.
The hospital also told his parents that he was stillborn and failed to give a full and frank account of what caused his death.
The Molloys are calling for medical staff to be under a legal duty to openly disclose errors and they want independent reporting and collating of such errors when they are disclosed.
The Molloys said they hope their campaign to highlight the issues around their son's death will prevent other deaths and that their youngest son will be remembered in a positive way.
The settlement agreed by the Molloys with the HSE is confidential.
One small aspect involving a payment of just over €25,000 to Mr Molloy, the couple's children and grandparents had to be ruled on by the High Court this afternoon.
The Health Information and Quality Authority is carrying out an investigation into maternity services at Portlaoise Hospital.
It is expected the investigation will be completed by the end of this year, but it is not clear yet when the report will be published.
A report by Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan earlier this year into the deaths of four babies at the hospital, between 2006 and 2012, found the maternity unit at the hospital was unsafe.
It found that babies and their families were treated in a poor, and at times, appalling manner, with limited respect, kindness, courtesy and consideration.
It is understood many more cases have also been investigated as part of the HIQA investigation.
