Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I apologise to Ms McGuinness. On the last occasion I substituted at a health committee, we had a row. I hope we are not going to have one now, but I am not convinced.

First, I have a couple of general questions which are area specific.

The ambulance service staff on the ground are doing a fantastic job under considerable pressure. That came across in the presentations from SIPTU and the group before it. What is the difference between a paramedic and an emergency medical technician? How many people in the service are trained and doing the duties of paramedics but paid according to the rate applicable to an emergency medical technician?

SIPTU raised the issue of emergency room delays and stated ambulances are parked up at emergency rooms. It cited the case of a 16-hour delay in trying to get a trolley. One representative spoke about this being an international problem. Is there an Ireland-specific problem? What protocol is in place?

The HSE said in its presentation there was a quite significant volume increase in 2013, by an average of 1,000 per month. Is there any specific reason for that? Is it the international experience? Are there any particular conditions resulting in the trend?

Now comes the row, perhaps. I was made aware of a delay in a call-out in Ballina the third week of October. I emailed the service in Galway and got a very prompt response; I had it within days. The time of the call was 10.41 p.m. The ambulance was mobile at 10.44 p.m. and at the scene at 12.10 a.m. It left the scene a 12.29 a.m. and was at the hospital at 1.02 a.m. The delegation defined the primary role of the ambulance service as delivering a responsible emergency service to the public. In the case in question, where does that fit in? I subsequently submitted a parliamentary question to obtain further detail and it took two months for me to receive a response. It was only half a response. I raised my frustration over this in a Topical Issue debate and Minister of State Deputy Kathleen Lynch, in fairness to her, very kindly intervened and got a response. The response I got contradicts some of what the delegates have told us. The HSE would say that the appropriate targeting of emergency vehicles is involved. It has also made the point that, in terms of the establishment of the new control centres, geographical boundaries are no longer what they were. I understand that on the night of the call in question, the Ballina-based ambulance crew was actually at a call in Rooskey. The ambulance that answered the call came from Boyle. The Ballina-based crew was in Roscommon and an ambulance from Boyle had to come. On the same evening, another call from Ballina was answered by an ambulance crew from Clifden. I asked how many times ambulance crews had come from outside the county to answer calls in Mayo and how many times ambulance crews based in the county had left it. I was told that information is not available. The HSE has stated the national ambulance service does not currently record some of the information the Deputy has sought. I presumed that to be it. How can we make a judgment about whether the HSE’s services meet the needs of the people we work for? How can we know that the service meets all the objectives if we cannot get what I would consider basic management information systems information?

I do not know how many ambulances are based in County Louth. Perhaps Deputy Nash can tell us. In Erris in County Mayo, which is the size of County Louth, there is one ambulance on call tonight. There is one ambulance on call on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and one ambulance on duty on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. What is the difference between “on call” and “on duty”? Does the delegation believe it is acceptable that a county the size of Mayo has three ambulances available tonight in case of emergency?