James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the last point, it is, of course, my intention that the reports will be published. The HIQA review of the national ambulance service will be a very comprehensive analysis of how to make the best use of the resources available to us. Response time requirements have been in place since 2011 - no such criteria applied before then - and everybody will agree that the people providing the service are very committed to it. However, there is no service so good that it cannot be improved. The Deputy referred to the position in Scotland which has a similar dispersed population. We will learn from our neighbours in any way we can. The objective of the three reviews to which I referred is to improve the service to the patient. The most important point, as the Deputy reminded me when he spoke about his own experience, is that the patient should receive the right treatment as quickly as possible. The ambulance that takes a patient to hospital is very important, but having rapid access to a skilled advanced paramedic who can administer care is the critical consideration.

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