Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I note from the Minister's reply that one of the reviews under way is addressing the capacity of the current service. Without questioning the industry of the people entrusted to deliver the review, I must ask whether they are looking honestly at the capacity of the ambulance service to deliver on a day-to-day basis. Does the Minister agree with the National Ambulance Service Representative Association's statement that targets are not being met because of a shortage of personnel, infrastructure, including an ambulance fleet, and funding? Has he, independent of the reviews, brought to an end the scandal of the misuse of rapid response vehicles as personal cars for managers, an issue that was highlighted some time past? Has he undertaken a comparison between the provision for the ambulance service in the State and the experience north of the Border and in Scotland, statistics for which I have cited to him on the floor of the House? Will he seek to establish a truly national ambulance service that would initially encompass cross-Border co-operation and ultimately provide for integration under an all-island ambulance authority?

See this speech in context