Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I forgot to ask a question about the ambulance service earlier. Advanced paramedics and other highly trained staff were transferred to work in swabbing and test and trace during the pandemic. That was understandable in the early days. We have a capacity issue in the ambulance service, as Mr. Reid and his operations managers agree. It is a fact of life and there are moves afoot to change that. However, there are still highly trained ambulance personnel who have been deployed on test and trace and swabbing. How many are doing this? When will they move back? I stress the importance of moving these people back into the ambulance service. I am sure Mr. Reid knows this. It is really important that we get all hands to the wheel to improve capacity in the ambulance services. How many are there? When will we see them all back? That needs to happen soon.