Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

——victims about taking off their belts to tie around their arms so they would lose a lot less blood in the following half hour while we phone the emergency services. I am not that type of person but there are people who have a degree of knowledge and believe they could be of some comfort to an accident victim and at the very least prevent him or her from further injury. People who work in the emergency services go off duty and are out and about in the same way as the rest of us. Some people are prepared to give assistance when it is necessary and we should protect them. Giving assistance may be part and parcel of their duty when they are at work but they can give worthwhile assistance outside that. We should examine this matter carefully.

I agree with the Minister, this is a much wider-ranging issue than what is encompassed in this Bill. However, the Minister must admit that the Bill at least has us talking about it and has prompted him to ask the Law Reform Commission to examine the wider aspects of the matter.

See this speech in context