James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I tabled this question because I am concerned that on 18 January 2007, Dublin Fire Brigade had four ambulances tied up at the Mater Hospital for between two and three hours and three further ambulances tied up at Beaumont Hospital. The seven ambulances in question, which represent over 60% of Dublin Fire Brigade's ambulance service, could not be used because the service could not get its trolleys back.

When I asked the Minister a question about the matter, it was referred to the HSE, which issued a facetious response to me. I asked why Beaumont Hospital and the Mater Hospital do not provide portakabins where spare trolleys can be kept, thereby allowing ambulance personnel to deliver patients into the care of accident and emergency departments, to collect a spare trolley from the portakabin and to get back on the road to save someone else's life on the M50 or wherever. The facetious response I was given was that patients cannot be moved off trolleys, which has nothing to do with what I asked.

The reality, as the Minister said, is that Dublin Fire Brigade has had just 12 ambulances for the last 20 years, even though the population of the greater Dublin area has exploded by 600,000 or 700,000 in that time. Ambulances have to stay outside accident and emergency departments in a manner that seems designed to keep patients out of hospital, although for all the wrong reasons. I would like the Minister to ensure I get a proper response to my question. I ask her to give the House a commitment that she will instruct the HSE to ensure that spare trolleys are kept in portakabins in the manner I propose. Given that ambulances are such scarce resources, and more of them are needed, I ask that those we have at least be used appropriately.

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