Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would certainly be happy to discuss it with the Minister, Deputy Kelly. As I have said, if they are willing to be trained as community first responders, that would make a lot of sense. I think the possibility of training them to become paramedics would have to be examined carefully to make sure we would have the quality of service we need. The main improvement we want to make in the west this year involves the recruitment of 50 additional paramedics, as provided and budgeted for in the 2015 service plan. The move from an on-call ambulance service to an on-roster service is also crucial. Many of the delays west of the Shannon can be attributed to the fact that ambulance crews in many parts of the country have to be called out from home. This year, we intend to move to a system whereby they are based in the ambulance station or in the vehicle. That will cut up to 20 minutes off calls. I think that is really significant.