Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)

The purpose of the Good Samaritan Bill is to protect from liability those who go to the assistance of others who may be ill or injured as a result of an accident or other emergency. The reality is that we have a litigation culture and people are afraid to get involved in day-to-day situations. This is a simple practical Bill which affords protection to all citizens who wish to render assistance to their neighbour in danger.

I wanted to speak on this Bill because I was involved in an incident where my father was killed in a road traffic accident. The driver of that car would not have made the six miles to the Portiuncula Hospital on the evening of that accident had it not been for the fact that a general practitioner came on the scene who happened to have a drip and gave it to the driver of that car. That driver would not be alive today had it not been for that good samaritan. I acknowledge the role of that individual, and every other individual who does that type of work daily without any recognition. That said, there is an issue of liability that needs to be addressed.

I listened to the Minister's comments which were deliberately misleading. He focused on one phrase, "failing to act", which was taken out of context and used it to misrepresent the principle of the Bill. If the Minister has a difficulty with any particular wording in the legislation, he has the opportunity to amend it on Committee Stage and should do so rather than reject the proposal.

Every year 6,000 to 7,000 people die in Ireland as a result of sudden cardiac arrest, for which there are many causes, such as genetic illness and so on. For a person who has a heart attack, time is critical. The survival rates drop by 10% for every minute they do not get emergency treatment. In rural areas, such as County Roscommon where ambulances must travel great distances, portable defibrillators could be used to administer medical assistance by trained persons while awaiting the arrival of an ambulance.

The first responder scheme where trained local volunteers assist with the ambulance services where a person suffers a heart attack or a threatened heart attack has been successfully run by Deputy Timmins in County Wicklow. This scheme should be expanded to isolated rural communities. Such a scheme would be of particular benefit to the people of County Roscommon who must wait for an ambulance to come from either Roscommon town, Boyle or Ballinasloe or in some cases from Castlebar, depending on the particular location. In many cases it takes more than an hour to get to a patient. That is unacceptable.

More than 8% of accidents in County Roscommon are road traffic accidents and more than 12% are cardiac emergencies. The scientific evidence clearly states that critical patients who fail to receive accident and emergency treatment within one hour run a 30% greater probability of death. The use of defibrillators and this legislation which would facilitate their use would help reduce the response times.

UK research shows that in respect of dead on arrival rates, when comparing rural and urban areas, 24% in rural areas survive compared with 78% in urban areas. It clearly shows that the distance to hospital has a direct impact on the survival rates in communities in rural areas.

One night recently in County Roscommon, both the Boyle and Ballinasloe ambulances were in Ballinasloe with patients and the Roscommon ambulance was involved in a call in the Ballinasloe area. No ambulance was covering County Roscommon, the main national primary routes, the N4, N5, N6 and N17, Knock Airport and all the other national secondary roads in the county. It is critically important that we take three immediate steps in County Roscommon, one being the development of a network of defibrillators across the county. This legislation is key to facilitating that. We need an ambulance base in west Roscommon. It has been promised for the past five years. A report has been gathering dust on Deputy Brian Lenihan's desk, in his capacity as Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, for five years. We also need a dedicated emergency helicopter service in this country, another report on which is lying on a desk in the Department of Health and Children for the past number of years. It could help to address the issues, particularly regarding road traffic accidents.

It is critically important that we provide proper cover for rural communities throughout the country. It is not provided at the moment. The Government wants to get rid of accident and emergency units yet it is not prepared to provide emergency services. The least that could be done is to support local communities by putting in place this legislation so they can act in their own interests. The Government does not even allow that to happen. I commend the Bill to the House.

See this speech in context