Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The National Ambulance Service is in paralysis. The paramedics and first responders are voting with their feet and leaving. Response to emergency calls is evaluated including response times. On one recent day, the Clonmel ambulance did not service a single 999 call-out in County Tipperary. It was sent as far away as the Aran Islands. This is crazy. The fleet is burning out, as well as the manpower. They are not getting their lift or their leave, they are not finishing on time and they are not getting respected for it. It is frustrating that they might get a call from anywhere, it could be 120 or 140 miles away and they have to respond to it while a poor patient on the ground or at home, with whatever injuries, thinks the ambulance is on the way. They are not told that the ambulance is two, three or four hours away. This is madness and it needs to be overhauled. The call centres do not understand the geography. It is just a face-saving exercise by the National Ambulance Service and it is totally unacceptable.

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