Three Galway-based consultants will now not be part of the HSE inquiry into the death of Savita Halappanavar.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has told the Dáil that doctors with no connection to Galway University Hospital would be appointed to replace them.

Ms Halappanavar died following a miscarriage at the Galway hospital on 28 October and details of the HSE inquiry into her death were announced yesterday.

Gerard O' Donnell, the solicitor for Praveen Halappanavar told RTÉ News that the decision to drop three Galway consultants from the investigation does not change the demand for a sworn public inquiry.

He said the family do not want the HSE to be investigating itself.

Earlier, Mr O'Donnell said Mr Halappanavar had no faith in the HSE inquiry into his wife's death and would not cooperate with it.

He said Mr Halappanavar would not consent to have Savita's records looked at by the HSE inquiry team.

Mr O’Donnell said Mr Halappanavar would be essential to any inquiry as he was a very important witness. The solicitor has written to Health Minister James Reilly seeking a full public inquiry.

This would see oral hearings held in public, a full discovery of records and witnesses called in under oath and cross examined in public.

Mr O'Donnell said: "Any inquiry conducted by the HSE does not meet with his approval. He has no faith in the HSE.

“It's important to remember that he lost his wife while under the care of the HSE," he added.

"He (Praveen) feels that anybody who is appointed by the HSE or paid for by the HSE to conduct an inquiry into his wife's death won't meet the criteria that we would advise him as lawyers of getting to the truth," Mr O’Donnell said.

Mr O'Donnell said the removal of the three consultants from the Galway hospital from the inquiry team would not be enough to meet Mr Halappanavar's concerns.

The Chairman of the HSE inquiry team, Professor Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, this afternoon sought a face-to-face meeting with Mr Halappanavar.

Mr Halappanavar, who returned to Galway from India on Sunday, also said he does not believe there would have been any inquiry other than an inquest, if there had not been public pressure.

He said the scale of the media attention has been a shock for his wife’s family, who were overwhelmed by the numbers involved in Saturday's vigil in Dublin.

Chairman advocated liberal abortion laws

Prof Arulkumaran expressed views about abortion in a joint paper published in 2009 in the International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics.

Prof Arulkumaran said he would like to challenge and encourage societies and countries with restrictive abortion laws to look at the evidence available in favour of liberal abortion laws, and debate the possibility of making the choice of termination of pregnancy a legal right for women.

The paper was entitled Safer childbirth: A rights-based approach and written along with Vincent Boama at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, St George's Hospital in London.

Independent senator Rónán Mullen called for Prof Arulkumaran to be removed as chairperson of the inquiry given his stated views on abortion in the paper.

Mr Mullen called on the Minister for Health to insist on a replacement.

Senator wants 'augmented international presence'

Consultant oncologist and Independent Senator John Crown has said that there should be "an augmented international presence" on the team appointed by the HSE to investigate the death of Savita Halappanavar.

Speaking on RTÉ's Six-One, Senator Crown welcomed the fact that the three consultants from Galway University Hospital, originally appointed to the team, had been stood down.

However Mr Crown said that not only was the medical community in Galway relatively small, but so too was the Irish medical community, and for this reason more external experts should be drafted onto the team.

"It’s well appreciated that the Irish medical community is also relatively small - there are only about 2,000 hospital specialists in the country - and it is generally appreciated that it is sometimes difficult to get people in a testamentary capacity standing, sometimes in judgment, on the actions of their colleagues," Mr Crown said.

"I don't think there should be no Irish obstetricians and no Irish specialists involved in the case, but there should be an augmented international presence."