Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein)

It was 10.30 p.m. before Lauren's mother was finally admitted to Beaumont Hospital, which was more than eight hours after the first emergency call. Tragically, Lauren's mother passed away shortly afterwards. One year later, the family still awaits a full response to their complaint. It is just not acceptable. We know the National Ambulance Service is in crisis. We are all listening to paramedics in our communities, but in Laois it is costing lives.

Paramedics have also raised with me the worsening conditions they are facing. We know that, in Laois, overruns are now normal, meaning crews regularly miss their breaks and health and safety guidelines are ignored. Staff burnout has reached crisis level and there is an extremely high turnover of paramedic staff. It is clear the system is at breaking point, and front-line workers and communities are now paying the price.

I specifically highlight the situation in Laois. As I mentioned the last day, Laois has just one ambulance base compared with its neighbouring county of County Offaly, which has a smaller population but has two ambulance bases. Laois paramedics and residents suffer disproportionately as a result. I urgently call on the Minister to immediately implement some temporary plan for Laois to keep Laois-based ambulances within a defined radius of Laois until staffing and base resources can be properly addressed. The people of Laois cannot continue to face hours without any ambulance cover. Every minute lost is a risk to life. We owe it to Lauren's mother and countless others to fix this broken system before more lives are lost.