Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I again thank the Senator for raising this issue and giving us the chance to speak about the continued implementation of the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest strategy. Good progress was made during 2021 on the implementation of the strategy, supported by Government funding, and it is my expectation that progress will continue in 2022. In particular, the National Ambulance Service, via the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest strategy, continues to advance development of a national AED register, which will enable the service's national emergency operations centre to locate all publicly accessible defibrillators when it receives a 999 or 112 call.Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a significant source of mortality and morbidity, with a wide variation in its reported incidence and outcomes globally. Research has shown us it takes an entire system to save a life, which is why a strategic whole-nation approach is planned. Improving out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival is essential.