Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The National Ambulance Service has been under-resourced and overstretched for years. We have an insufficient number of operational vehicles and paramedics are being forced to work dangerously long shifts due to staff shortages. It is no exaggeration to say that it is costing lives.

This issue has a particular impact on rural populations. I have constituents in west Cork who are fearful of what will happen in an emergency situation given that they live so far away from a hospital. A major issue is that the ambulances are assigned according to population rather than population and the geographical spread of an area. Places like Cork South-West are spread over a huge geographical area and people are put at risk under this policy. There needs to be a significant increase in investment in the ambulance service. Currently, west Cork is assigned one rapid response vehicle, RRV, and that is only for 12 hours out of 24. At the very least, we need a 24-hour cover rapid response vehicle as well as additional vehicles and staff.

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