Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach will remember the closure of the accident and emergency unit in Roscommon hospital in 2011. In its place, we were promised a rapid response vehicle with an advanced paramedic on board 24-7, not least due to the distance people in Roscommon would be from the nearest accident and emergency department. That has been in place for the past 13 years. In recent months it has been quietly removed and it is now not the case that we have an advanced paramedic in the response vehicle on a 24-7 basis. I have been raising this in recent months with the National Ambulance Service to no avail. It has gone as far as to tell me that a paramedic is the same as an advanced paramedic, which is not the case. I ask the Taoiseach to keep his commitment to the people of Roscommon. We need an advanced paramedic on board the rapid response vehicle on a 24-7 basis. It is very important.

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