Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is welcome to the House. I wish to pay tribute to the Air Corps and the air ambulance service. They do the State significant service in difficult conditions. As noted by other Senators, many people walking around today would not be with us if it were not for the air ambulance service. I acknowledge the remarks of Senator Feighan on Roscommon and the excellent air ambulance service provided there.

We need a longer discussion on this matter. There is a basic level of service which the citizens of Ireland deserve. We owe them an integrated plan. A very interesting report on the successfulness of operations carried out by the HSE was published earlier this week. When a surgeon performs an operation at least 12 times per year, outcomes are far better and the patients have better chance of recovery and fewer complications. That holds true at various levels of expertise. I raised the issue of cancer outcomes on the Order of Business. It has been proven that centres of excellence provide better outcomes for cancer patients, those who have had a stroke and those undergoing an operation. If we wish for the public to have confidence in our services, they must know that they can be transported from their location to a hospital in a certain amount of time, whether by ambulance or helicopter.

I admire the Irish Community Rapid Response and the service provided by its charity helicopter. However, one must ask why it is necessary for a charity to provide that service. This is about the provision of a minimum standard. We must decide what that minimum standard is for those living in Donegal, Kerry, Roscommon, Mayo or elsewhere. It is that a very quick response commensurate with the seriousness of one's illness or accident is provided, whether by ambulance or helicopter. We need to sit down and see how to achieve that.

I will not be highly critical of any one service or Minister. The Sláintecare plan involves the roll-out of local services. Those who require the services of an acute hospital must be able to access it quickly and efficiently and that service must be provided by the State. A rapid response helicopter service provided by the Air Corps must be adequately resourced. Its staff must not be pulled off other duties but, rather, be dedicated to the service. There must be a sufficient staffing level. As we roll out Sláintecare and the centres of excellence, the public can have confidence that they will have rapid access to emergency services. I believe that is also the wish of the Minister of State.

In the dying days of this Government - I do not mean that in any nasty sense - there may be an opportunity to discuss the minimum level of service which we can guarantee, and then provide it. It should be provided by the State. We should not have to depend on the collection box and the good intentions and actions of members of the public who fundraise. We must tell citizens that there is a minimum threshold which we can and will provide. That is what they need and deserve. If this discussion kicks off that debate, this will have been time well spent.I thank the Minister of State for attending. Perhaps in some way we can kick off this conversation whether in this House or not. We have to analyse the services provided, especially in rural Ireland. A rapid response helicopter service is a bare minimum. It has to be resourced properly, therefore, and if the Air Corps is providing it, it also has to be resourced properly.