Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy makes a number of very fair points. She is correct that it is more than a question of generalities and is about what specifically we will do. I can tell the Deputy very clearly today that the programme for Government, which outlines my mandate and what I need to implement along with my colleagues in the Department of Health, commits the Government to increasing the number of staff working in the National Ambulance Service and the number of vehicles available to that service. I am happy to be judged on that in regard to the implementation of the programme for Government. Obviously, when the Deputy starts to see concrete details on the delivery in this regard, it will be in the run-up to the Estimates process and budget, at which time I will have to show the commitment we need to make regarding the National Ambulance Service. It will be a multi-annual process and it will take a number of years. The report is very clear about the challenges that face the service. The report is also very clear about the fact that even if we put all the resources together and could deal with all the recruitment issues, based on the difficulty at times in finding the appropriate staff, worldwide and not only in Ireland, there would still be a number of issues in rural areas in respect of which new solutions would have to be found.

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