Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

As with the last issue, it is important to remind Members, lest they have forgotten, of the extremely difficult financial circumstances in which we are operating. I am not going to go into the reasons for that; I am sure Deputy Cowen would not want me to do so. The fact is that €750 million has been taken out of the health budget this year because of our extreme difficulties. That poses enormous challenges within the health service in terms of maintaining an acceptable level of service where demand for services is growing. That is the climate in which people are trying to function and, in fairness, staff are doing their utmost to plug the holes left by a lack of funding.

As the Deputy has said, it is accepted that the current facilities are temporary and are not suitable, although it is recognised that the staff are nonetheless providing an excellent level of service in circumstances that are less than optimal. There have been discussions with the fire service, and the NAS is of the view that the proposal it has advanced has potential. It believes it is possible to accommodate the ambulance service within the fire station, and it has made proposals in this regard which are under consideration at the moment. It is not realistic to think in terms of building a new centre at this point, but the NAS has put forward a proposal and it believes it is possible to reach agreement on a shared arrangement with the fire service.

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