Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I again ask the Taoiseach to address this issue today. I appeal to him to indicate, as an appropriate gesture on his part, that he will invite the families of the Stardust victims to meet him and indicate his willingness to establish a new investigation as all the pointers show that is what is required and what the families are requesting.

Is the Taoiseach aware that there has been no increase in the number of fire brigade ambulances for the city and county of Dublin since 1986? Over the same period there has been an increase in the number of emergency calls requiring ambulances from 26,000 to over 80,000 last year, yet the same number of ambulances are expected to cater to that voluminous demand from the wider public in moments of great need.

There is no point in adopting a defensive position on ambulance cover. Will the Taoiseach not accept that this need was never more obvious than on 21 February 2004 at Wellington Quay, when five poor citizens were mown down by a city bus? The emergency services required the despatch of eight ambulances on that occasion, leaving only three within the fire brigade service which is the first point of call-out in this city. If another emergency of similar proportion, smaller or, God forbid, even worse, were to happen within the county of Dublin, the service would not be able to cope. That is the reality. What will the Government do to address this glaring need before we find ourselves facing another avoidable tragedy?

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