David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A child is dead and one can imagine the kind of emotional response that has provoked in the area among families and parents when an ambulance was not available and did not arrive. Now, however, we are told that ambulances were available. Deputy McLellan, I and others worked hard when this reconfiguration was going ahead. We supported the national ambulance service in that work. We asked a lot of hard questions and got answers. At the time I felt it was an improvement, but I now have serious reservations.

The Minister must ensure that we have full information. The public must have full information on what happened as well as full information on the reconfiguration. This is an extraordinarily serious issue. How many calls have the ambulances responded to in the last while, and what is the average response time? We want an independent and ongoing review. The feeling in Midleton now is that no ambulance is available in the town. My understanding of the reconfiguration is that the ambulance is not a static service but moves around. If one tries to explain that to people, however, they neither accept it nor understand it.

Because of the incidents outlined by myself, Deputy Ó Caoláin and Deputy McLellan, the public no longer have any confidence in the ambulance service. When confidence disappears people get worried and angry. I am angry also, so I want answers quickly. How soon will this preliminary report be available? If the Minister of State cannot tell me that now, I would appreciate if she could do so before the evening is out. We also need to know how soon the full report will be available and what kind of information will be in it. I am quite angry about this, so I want a comprehensive response.

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