Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for selecting this very important issue which relates to the ambulance base in Carlow town. Carlow town has a population of approximately 23,500. The total population of the county is around 55,000. The ambulance base has been located in the grounds of the former mental hospital in Carlow, St. Dympna's, for the past few years. It has 15 rostered paramedics, five advanced and ten ordinary. The base is one of the busiest in the south east. The structure itself is a prefabricated building which has been in place for the past 15 years. In the past while, however, the structure has become totally outdated. There are issues with sewage and vermin, there is no running hot water and there is no place for the paramedics to make a cup of tea. The base is used 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but is totally unsuitable. Paramedics who are on a shift from 7 a.m to 7 p.m., for example, and who are back at the base in Carlow, cannot even make a cup of tea. If they get soiled while on duty, there is nowhere for them to have a shower or change their clothes.

Last October, I was given a written guarantee by the authorities regarding the base. In a letter from the HSE, I was assured that a logistics and estates manager was involved in ongoing discussions with the HSE's estates section with the aim of identifying a suitable alternative site or suitable accommodation within the St. Dympna's campus as a matter of priority. The campus at St. Dympna's is huge with a lot of available space. However, as and from Monday morning next, the paramedics who work out the Carlow base are being moved to Kilkenny. It is totally unacceptable to expect paramedics in a town the size of Carlow to work out of Kilkenny. There should be an alternative site in Carlow made available to them. I was also told that work was ongoing to provide an alternative and upgrade the existing structure.

If this work is going to be done, why not move the personnel to another part of the Carlow base?

I have two questions for the Minister of State, whom I thank for being here. Can she assure me that the base in Carlow will be maintained after this work has been completed? It is essential that the Carlow base is maintained and I want an assurance to that effect. There are serious concerns about the effect the decision to move these paramedics to the base at St. Luke's hospital in Kilkenny, which is at least 40 minutes from Carlow town and the north Carlow area, will have on patient care and welfare in the Carlow ambulance service area. Can the Minister of State to give me an assurance that this move will not have a knock-on effect on the care and welfare of patients in County Carlow? I will repeat my two questions. Can the Minister of State tell me whether the base in Carlow town will be maintained indefinitely? Can she comment on the effect this move will have on the welfare and care of patients in the Carlow area?

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