Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Before Deputy Calleary leaves us, I wish to say I am really disappointed the Fianna Fáil Party, which promised an end to Punch and Judy politics, would come before us with a motion which, at its core, has nothing positive to offer, a bit like that party's health plan.

Patient care is at the heart of what we are about as people, whether as public health practitioners or public advocates and Members of the Dáil. At the end of his speech, the Minister referred to advance paramedics. I wish to put on the record of the House that we had an incident in our family where a member had to have an advance paramedic call to the scene of an accident. That advance paramedic was fantastic, professional and highly competent. He made his diagnosis quickly and made the injured person feel comfortable and reassured. I put on record that we have competent and highly skilled staff in our National Ambulance Service who deserve our support, be it in terms of the rhetoric we use or the resources we allocate. In particular, it behoves no one in this House to go on the public record or the public airways to stir up fear and hysteria just to score political points. Unfortunately, there are some, not necessarily those present, who have done that.

Our National Ambulance Service has undergone change and we must recognise that more change is needed. It is also important to put on record that lives are saved by first responders, advance paramedics, paramedics and ambulance crews. I welcome the National Ambulance Service action plan which calls for improved mobilisation times for crews, improvements in the timing and dispatching of ambulances, and engagement with the development of community first responders. It would be fair to say the safety of patients is of concern to those who work in the ambulance service. I very much welcome the service's commitment to reviewing its operations. As Deputy Calleary mentioned, members of the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children had, earlier this year, a very interesting, frank and open discussion on ambulances and the role of the ambulance service. It is imperative we thank the men and women of our ambulance service.

It is also fair to say, in the context of change, that there have been issues around call-out times, how we locate ambulances and the numbers available at certain times of the day. Anyone involved in the health area should not shy away from scrutinising how we allocate resources. Those engaged in this debate will acknowledge we have met people in our constituency offices who have had issues with call-out times for ambulances to come to their loved ones. The people involved are real and it is very distressing when an ambulance is delayed for whatever reason, whether one is in Monaghan, Donegal, Roscommon, Cork or Louth. It is imperative to remember in the course of this debate that it is not about percentages or statistics but about people and their lives. Everything we do should be about improving the quality of the pre-hospital care provided to the citizens we represent.

I welcome the additional €3.6 million and 43 staff as part of the national service plan. It is welcome because, as Members know, our ambulance service straddles the four provinces and services both urban and rural areas, with different population masses. That presents a very important challenge. I very much welcome the undertaking of a capacity review. That review must be thorough, honest and it must be published in full. When we publish it, we will have a roadmap for continued modernisation and reform of the ambulance service.

The "Prime Time" programme was welcome because it raised many concerns that need to be addressed by all involved in the health area. Those who criticise must remember this is about the allocation of resources and the reform of a service which puts people at its core. I beg to differ with Deputy Kelleher in the context of the figures because by my reckoning, understanding and research, it is only since this Government came into office that there has been monitoring of the figures.

I will conclude by saying that 281,000 emergency calls were processed in 2013, 14,000 more than the previous year. A total of 56,833 emergency calls concerning life-threatening situations were answered within 19 minutes. There are tremendous people working in our ambulance service and they deserve our support.

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