Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate Mr. Quinn on his new role. I love to see improvements in anything. One of the main reasons I am on the committee is health is one of the most important aspects of people's lives. Will the officials elaborate on the new national control centre, which will open in Tallaght in 2015, with a back up centre in Ballyshannon? It will integrate the six regional services. Will this improve the service in the control centres?

My main focus is the national service replacement policy on vehicles. Once a vehicle has been in use for seven years or has reached mileage greater than 500,000 km, it is replaced but the officials stated that despite the policy, 18% of the current fleet is eight years old or more. Louth County Hospital is located in my home town of Dundalk. Over the past 12 to 18 months, there has been a great deal of concern about the ambulance service at the hospital. The paramedics, advanced paramedics and the drivers all do a fantastic job but many vehicles have broken down over the past number of years and the public are concerned. Does the 18% statistic refer only to County Louth or to the entire country?