Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Ambulance paramedic staff are a vital asset to Carlow and the south east, providing assistance and support to the community, especially at times of illness and tragedy. Carlow ambulance service comprises 18 staff - four women and 14 men. They are based in a prefab with no hot water, a leaking roof and in a sewage problem. The store for their medication is located in a different building and it is not ideal having to go to a different building on winter evenings, which puts them in a vulnerable position. Last week, a health and safety audit carried out on the prefab and it was condemned and deemed unfit for purpose. As of next Monday, 24 October, the 18 staff will pick up their keys and kit and will work out of Kilkenny on their 12-hour shift, which means there will be no ambulance service in Carlow. This is uncalled for and the 18 staff will have to travel from Carlow to the depot in Kilkenny and back. If accidents happen and an ambulance is needed, no service will be available in Carlow.

The building is not fit for purpose. Despite 18 trained paramedics raising concerns and issues over a number of years about health and safety in the prefab, they have to move to Kilkenny because the HSE has not listened to them. I have a major issue with that. These staff have been complaining for years. Who is accountable? Is it the HSE or the Minister? The most recent audit also highlights that issues were raised regarding staff numbers because the service is under staffed. There is ongoing health and safety training yet the staff are expected to work from a condemned building. As a matter of urgency, the staff need to be relocated in Carlow in a suitable alternative building. It is unacceptable that funding should be an issue, as taxpayers are paying for this service. It is not being delivered, leaving the people of Carlow and the surrounding area in a vulnerable position.

I have met the staff and there is no need for this. These trained and qualified professionals have to leave this prefab in Carlow because it is not fit for purpose.