Mr. Robert Morton:

There is no service level agreement in place. The current arrangements are grounded in a 1993 review. The fire brigade, through section 25 of the Fire Services Act 1981, deliver fire and ambulance services as a statutory authority in its own right. It does not deliver those services on behalf of the ambulance service or on behalf of the HSE. Arrangements emanated from the 1993 review of ambulance services. As a result of that review, we make a contribution towards the running of the cost of the ambulance service because otherwise we would have to deliver it.