Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the members of the McQuillan family from my own county of Louth. I heard about the tragic death on New Year's Eve. It would be one's worst nightmare as a father. I apologise to the family for what happened their son.

I would like to pick up on the suggestion that we do not have enough appreciation for paramedics. I had a bit of an incident approximately two years ago, as a result of which I have nothing but admiration for paramedics. I congratulate them on the absolutely fantastic job they are doing. It has been mentioned that paramedics work closely with the Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces, the fire service and the Prison Service. They do a really professional job. By providing early intervention in life-threatening circumstances, they definitely improve a person's chances of surviving. Paramedics do an excellent job on the front line.

The current targets for paramedic response times are set by HIQA. The response time of 7 minutes and 59 seconds for Echo and Delta calls - those relating to serious life-threatening situations - is achieved in 85% of cases. I know HIQA is trying to improve that again this year. The shortage of personnel has been mentioned by a few speakers. As far I know, some 1,692 people are employed in this sector. The Government has given a commitment to allocate an additional 43 posts in 2014. Reference has also been made to a lack of funding. I attended a meeting of this committee at which we discussed the budget with the Minister. In 2013, an additional €8 million was allocated to national ambulance services. An increase of €3.6 million is being provided for in 2014. Is that enough?

We have heard a great deal about the different staffing and other allocations in Northern Ireland and Scotland. The bottom line is that this country needs an ambulance service that has good response times. Nobody in this room would deny that. The McQuillan family will be particularly aware of that. We are all on their side. It is important that we all work together. It is easy for people outside the Government to criticise the ways things are at the moment. I hope that all members of this committee will work together by talking to the Minister and pushing as hard as we can to help the ambulance service.

It seems from what Mr. Dixon said about rapid response vehicles that paramedics are not happy with the service that is being provided at the moment. I understand that an additional 25 vehicles were allocated recently. He also spoke about "the impact of roster changes and cutbacks on response times". He referred to the belief that the National Ambulance Service is "running on empty". I do not like that phrase because it suggests that something is lacking at the moment. I wish we could hear a little more about that. Not many people realise that between 275,000 and 280,000 emergency calls are received every year. The average monthly figure is approximately 23,000. In December 2013, that figure increased to 25,000.

We all realise that the members of the National Ambulance Service Representative Association have a tough job. We are here to listen to them. If we can help them in any way, it will be well worth it if it means that just one extra life is saved.