Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to bring the Taoiseach back to the issue of ambulances, which came up yesterday and this morning. I will give an example. A doctor called an ambulance for a woman in her late 80s a couple of weeks ago in Cashel at 1.40 p.m. and it came at 7.40 p.m. The doctor was in such a panic due to the health of this woman that he called it. The family contacted me at 5.30 a.m. the following morning and the woman had spent another ten hours on a trolley in the hospital. I have been told that the last review of the National Ambulance Service was in 2014 and I remember raising the issue when ambulances were taken out of Cashel. The Taoiseach is talking about engaging with the health service. How long is the engagement going to last? I guarantee the Taoiseach that while it may not be in Cashel or in Tipperary, someone will lose their life because of the shambles of the ambulance service that this Government and previous Governments have created. It is going to be on their hands when families lose a loved one.

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