Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What is the attitude of the ambulance service to freedom of information requests? Does it have designated officers? Is it a fact that a recent freedom of information request from me had to go to the appeals officer in the HSE to address the total lack of information I was getting? I very much welcome the fantastic work the ambulance services is doing and the lives it is undoubtedly saving. When there are occasional concerns, I think we are entitled to get answers to those questions and not to be obfuscated or information to be stopped. My request concerned four incidents in County Louth. All I got was the date and a line about a service provider having an issue with another service provider. There is a lack of transparency on the rare occasions when we need to have clarity. Because people do unfortunately pass away - and it is nobody's fault and the ambulance service is certainly doing its extreme best - I still have to deal with complaints and I do not have answers as to what exactly happened. I find the ambulance service is refusing to give me anything and is going out of its way to put a black line through information. If we want transparency and accountability we should have it here and I want it from the ambulance service.