Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I could not have put it better myself, and nobody would disagree with Senator Buttimer's last point. It is regrettable that the motorcycle response unit has had to cease scheduled operations for the time being but as the Senator and this House will appreciate, we have been living in extraordinary times over the past two years.In addition to its primary emergency response function, the NAS has been at the forefront of efforts to combat the pandemic. We are incredibly grateful for this. To accommodate these testing and vaccination functions, it has been necessary to redeploy some resources to ensure the continuity of critical front-line emergency services. As I highlighted previously, with the provision of additional newly-qualified staff to the NAS south region, the NAS has confirmed that it anticipates that the motorcycle response unit service will resume shortly. I will take on board the Senator's request. If a resumption date could be provided, that would indeed be helpful.