Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The death of young Vakaris Martinaitis and the trauma and profound sense of loss his family must now endure is almost beyond belief. I extend my deepest sympathy to his family at this time. As a mother it must be absolutely shocking to find your child has fallen out of a window and that he is seriously injured, but I can only imagine the initial shock must then be magnified many times over by the realisation that no ambulance is available to take your child to hospital. Despite the line by the HSE on this, the fact remains that when an ambulance was requested, the caller was informed none was available, and no ambulance arrived to take little Vakaris to hospital.

Unfortunately, the unreliable nature of the emergency services in my constituency of Cork East is now having profound consequences for children and adults who have serious injuries or illness. Only six weeks ago another child, James Casey Butler, needed emergency care and again the circumstances surrounding this particular incident are causing concern in the area. Questions about the failures and inadequacy of the emergency services in east Cork are not new. I have repeatedly raised the issue in the House, as has my colleague Deputy Ó Caoláin. The situation has now reached a crisis point and, simply put, lives are now at risk as a result.

In March of this year the Minister, Deputy Reilly, gave an undertaking that response times would improve as a result of more effective rostering and improved training. However, recent incidents prove this is simply not the case. The people of Midleton are entitled to better. They deserve to know that if they or their children have an accident or become ill an ambulance is available to take them to hospital. Not only in east Cork but throughout the country people are entitled to an emergency service which is both reliable and dependable. I therefore call on the Minister to conduct as a matter of urgency a review of how the restructuring or reconfiguration of the ambulance and emergency services actually works for people and communities. The evidence to date suggests serious problems exist with the service and people are suffering or dying as a result.

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