Jimmy Harte (Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. With a name like Harte, it is appropriate that I speak on this subject today. In Letterkenny, there is a road named after my father in that the locals call it the "Harte bypass". I fully support the Bill.

In France last summer, I noticed a defibrillator beside the gendarmerie station in the square of a small village. That is the model we could use. The French would not agonise over health and safety; they have done as I described and they provide training. We sometimes get tied up with health and safety and then start thinking about defibrillators. We should be pushing for them first as the training would follow.

In areas that attract tourists, areas of Dublin such as Grafton Street and St. Stephen's Green, Market Square in Letterkenny and towns with sizeable populations, there is a likelihood that someone will collapse from a heart attack. A defibrillator would save his or her life. Defibrillators would not exist if they were not of any use. Everyone knows people with heart-related problems. I had a stent inserted after running a marathon. I believed running would keep me fit but I collapsed three weeks later, although not from a heart attack. Had I had a heart attack in an area such as the square in France, I would have been saved. If, God forbid, I had one in west Donegal or on the street in Letterkenny, I probably would not survive. There is a role for defibrillators and legislators have a role to advance the agenda.

Sports clubs, including local soccer and GAA clubs, provide defibrillators, as Senator Ó Domhnaill said. Every club in the country should have access to a defibrillator. The Government should provide a subsidy or encourage local communities to fund their provision. A local five-a-side club asked me whether I could help out in obtaining a defibrillator. The cost is approximately €2,200. Senator Quinn may correct me if I am wrong.