Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to extend my sympathies and those of the Government to the parents of the young child who died as a result of this incident. I heard the radio report on the work done by Mr. Kevin Hennessy, a well-known neighbour of the child's family. These are always tragic cases and nothing we say or do here can bring back that child to his parents.

The incident has been escalated to the HSE's serious incident management team. Following preliminary inquiries into this tragic incident, the national ambulance service in line with the HSE incident review methodology, has commissioned an incident review into the fact that a 999 call was received at 14:00, 2 o'clock, on 6 May 2013 and how, in effect, that was managed. The review team has asked for a preliminary report on this as a matter of urgency to be followed by a full report. Obviously the national ambulance service's liaison officer liaised with the family.

As the Deputy is probably aware, emergency ambulances in east Cork are strategically deployed. In other words they are no longer tied to any particular station, but are employed where they are most likely to be required. In addition, county boundaries no longer apply. The nearest emergency ambulance responds regardless of its origin. There has been no loss for the national ambulance service in east Cork - in fact it has been enhanced. Previously paramedics were responding to calls after 20:00, 8 p.m., four nights a week from their homes as they were working on call. In 2012, this system successfully changed to an on-duty rota with paramedics rostered on duty 24 hours a day and seven days a week, and the on-call system was eliminated.

It is important to ascertain the true facts in so far as the handling of the emergency call was concerned. Let us get those facts accurately form the incident team.

In regard to other incidents around the country, the situation of the national ambulance service is constantly monitored and reviewed. When incidents such as this tragic one come to light, it is fundamental to ascertain what the response was and why that response was made in this particular case. I respectfully suggest to the Deputy that we should wait until we get the report from the HSE serious incident management team and - while it will not bring back the little child - we can then see how the 999 call was managed. Given the improvement in the situation with ambulance services in east Cork we need to ascertain why this particular situation followed through as it did.

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