Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have a couple of points. The Minister said that the GP referred the case in January. The roll-out to the housebound started in the middle of March, just in case anybody believes the person in question has been waiting since January. That is not the case. The figures I have were given to me an hour before I came in here and I know they are accurate.

We also need to point out, because I certainly do not want to play politics on this, that those in the group in question are very vulnerable. It is very difficult to get around to all of them quickly. National Ambulance Service staff never rush when they enter a home. They may have to spend an hour with a person and then travel for 45 minutes to respond to the next call, where they may have to stay another hour. There are ten ambulance jeeps on the road and we are trying to get to everyone as quickly as possible. We want to make sure the programme is safe and effective.

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