Families to receive legal aid during inquests into maternal deaths

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan will bring a package of proposals to Cabinet for agreement on Wednesday, The Times reports, which could be put into effect by September.

It will also overhaul the way in which the families of babies who have died can access information about perinatal and infant deaths.

Between 2011-13, there were 27 maternal deaths in Ireland but only three inquests. The Government has officially supported plans for automatic mandatory inquests into maternal deaths since 2015.

A spokesperson for The Elephant Collective, an organisation which campaigns for mandatory inquests, said: “The inquest is the only public process we have to find out what happened to these women. The families need to know, as we need to know as a society.”