Jimmy Harte (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. The call was received at 7.31 p.m., and I assume that it took three minutes from the call being logged to the ambulance being told to mobilise, as well as two or three minutes in travel time. However, the ambulance arrived at 7.55 p.m. Assuming the ambulance left at 7.35 p.m., it took approximately 20 minutes to get there. Perhaps I am incorrect, but the distance between Carndonagh and Letterkenny is 40 miles or so. I do not know how the ambulance could have travelled 40 miles in 20 minutes. What speed can an ambulance achieve? Perhaps the Minister of State might clarify. Seeing as how it would have taken 40 minutes at roughly 100 km/h, the ambulance would need to have been travelling at 120 mph to cover it in 20 minutes. Even if the times are correct, they are unacceptable in a cardiac arrest situation. A person would die. The person who arrived would not be a qualified cardiac medic whereas a cardiac unit was only 1.5 miles away.