Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will certainly go back to the Minister, for whom I am deputising here. I am happy and more than willing to go back to him. I will repeat the Deputy's request with sincerity and I will do justice to how she has presented it on the floor of the House. She is right when she says that the answer I have read is not acceptable to the family in question. Ifs, whats and buts are no comfort for the members of the family. I agree that such families need a voice in this Chamber and with the ambulance service. As such a representative, Deputy Niamh Smyth is right to demand accountability. It is not just a choice on our part - as public representatives we have a responsibility to ensure we get accountability for these failures in the systems. There is a management structure in place within the National Ambulance Service at a macro level and at a local level. There are operatives carrying out various duties. We have to get accountability and answers for this family. I will support the Deputy in this endeavour at whatever level I can. I will certainly impress on the Minister my desire to see this matter brought to a conclusion.

I know Deputy Niamh Smyth has met representatives of the National Ambulance Service. That was mentioned in the briefing note which was made available to me. I understand the service has undertaken to get back to the Deputy with the answers and with more detail on the operational failures that occurred that day. That is the very least it should do for the family in question and indeed for all the Deputy's constituents. We do not want to be tearing down the confidence in the system of everybody who is worried about their parents or indeed about themselves. We owe it to them to provide assurances that the mistakes which have been made - I appreciate that this is a very polite word to use - will not happen again. We need to assure them that someone is being held accountable, that systems have changed since this incident and that lessons have been learned and implemented from it. I will certainly do everything I can to support the Deputy in this regard. I will make sure to impress it on the Minister.

See this speech in context