Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy Kelleher on the motion. I like the mention he made of providing an ambulance service of the highest international standard. It is a noble aspiration. He clearly pointed out the great work done by paramedics, but they need to be properly resourced. It would be very difficult to have a service which is of the highest international standards if the budget is cut.

I will speak about rural areas because it is more difficult to establish an ambulance base in such areas and to have a safe and efficient ambulance service when cutbacks are made. The example I will use is the town of Tuam which has an ambulance base. I was one of many public representatives who fought for more than 15 years to have a base established there. When we got it we expected a 24-hour service but what we got was a day service and even this is not fully operational. It is disappointing a town such as Tuam, which is not small and has a hinterland covering north Galway and south Mayo, does not have a base which is open 24 hours. It has more than 30,000 people in the catchment area, €2 million has been spent on the building and the trade unions have been fighting a very strong case on behalf of their staff. The personnel are very well qualified and provide high-quality care in the region. They are very dedicated to their work, and they work under very great pressure. Some of the staff are trained at St. Brigid's Hospital in Ballinasloe. At present Galway city is being used as a base with all of the congestion which goes with it and the traffic on the Tuam to Galway road. We are waiting for work on the motorway from Gort to Tuam to begin but the contract has not been signed on it yet. I hope it will soon open. There are other bases in Loughrea and Carraroe but Galway seems to be the base for our area.

I commend in particular the great work done by the Order of Malta and the Red Cross. I understand in the past grant aid was given to these organisations to purchase voluntary ambulances but the staff are not regarded as qualified. I cannot understand this. I raised this as a Topical Issues matter recently and it seems even though they are very fine organisations their staff are not considered qualified.

"Prime Time" brought this matter to our attention with the fine programme on the reality of what is happening to the ambulance service. It highlighted the large number of people in rural areas and the fact staff are not being transferred to areas such as Tuam where they are needed. When the Minister replied to the Topical Issues matter I raised he stated the 2014 national service plan includes a reform programme with additional funding of €3.6 million and 43 staff. I do not see the results of this investment in the western region. The fact the Tuam base is not fully operational shows it is not apparent. There is a particular challenge in rural areas so let us see some of this funding. I hope the Government will consider the north Galway and south Mayo area, which is one of the biggest catchment areas without an ambulance service.

The health correspondent of the Irish Independent, Eilish O Regan, recently wrote that HIQA is conducting a six-month review of the ambulance services. I hope this review will be done very soon. The situation is urgent and needs action. I had representations from the National Ambulance Service Representative Association, NASRA, which raised the issue of the worrying rise in the number of serious delays in response times. The NASRA stated it does not have the personnel or vehicles to meet the targets and it is time for the service to accept these targets are unrealistic unless cutbacks are reversed. This clearly states the situation. A national control centre is to be put in place and steps are being taken in this regard. I certainly hope this happens. I am sure the Minister of State agrees that where a building is available, such as that in Tuam, it should be staffed, training should be provided and the ambulances should be put in place. I hope this can happen quickly in the case of Tuam.

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