A leading patient advocate who resigned from the board of the HSE after only six months has said he feels "let down" by the Taoiseach and Health Minister.
Mark and Roisín Molloy's son, Mark, died shortly after birth at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise in 2012.
The Molloys have since campaigned for greater accountability and patient representation in the health service.
According to The Irish Times, Mark Molloy made the decision in protest at what he called the “tokenistic” treatment of patients in the health service.
He says he feels “let down” by the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health over the under-funding of the national maternity strategy.
Mr Molloy, who stepped down earlier this month, issued a further statement this morning.
He said that "by not having a veto on significant board decisions that we had issue with given our in depth knowledge of the intricacies of the working of the HSE or the processes by which these decisions were made, we were by extension being complicit in these decisions".
While Mr Molloy has resigned from the HSE board, he says he will "continue to work from the outside to achieve our objectives and a system that is patient-centred and through Róisín's involvement on the Sláintecare advisory council".
Responding to the news of Mr Molloy's resignation, fellow health advocate Vicky Phelan said it was "another example of patient advocates not being listened to".
Patient advocate Lorraine Walsh, who resigned from the CervicalCheck steering committee in December, said she was "disappointed" but "not surprised" to hear of Mr Molloy's resignation.
She said on Twitter: "We are fully aware of the huge inadequacies in women’s health in Ireland, maternity strategy inadequately funded, huge waitlists for Gynae and also huge waitlists for Colposcopy, it’s just not good enough!"
Reporting by Andrea Gilligan
