Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is good to hear. A new protocol took effect in the mid-west in early January whereby many patients who would have attended University Hospital Limerick are now being transferred to the medical assessment unit in Ennis. I believe there are plans afoot to implement something similar in Nenagh. How is that working operationally for ambulance crews? It is working from a public point of view but the hospitals are telling us they are losing out on surgical days, so there are pluses and minuses involved already. I would love to hear whether it is overstretching ambulance crews. Is it pulling them further from their bases?

I have another question, which may be most appropriate for Mr. Keeley, from the Dublin Fire Brigade. Is there a role for the retained fire service in providing some form of ambulance cover in rural counties like Clare and up along the west where many places are far-removed from an ambulance base?