The Health Minister James Reilly has requested a report into the deaths of four babies at the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise.
An RTE Investigations Unit documentary has revealed the infants died shortly after birth over a six year period - although they were not suffering from any abnormalities.
The Director General of the Health Service Executive says any loss of a baby in any circumstance is an enormous tragedy.
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Tony O'Brien also says it appears there may have been shortcomings in the way the families were related to by the hospital.
However he says the number of perinatal deaths are not out of line with international expectations:
