Seanad debates
Wednesday, 8 July 2026
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Ambulance Service
2:00 am
Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I, too, welcome Lisa and Leah. Leah has been around Ennistymon in County Clare for the last couple of weeks. I have met her on a number of occasions. In spite of the inclement weather, she is enjoying herself. They are both very welcome to Leinster House.
I thank the Minister of State very much for coming in today to take this critical Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Health. Living in Sligo, he will know that rural Ireland is sometimes not best served when it comes to the golden hour. As he also knows, getting to hospital within the golden hour is critical for people who find themselves having suffered a stroke, a heart attack or some other medical emergency of similar significance. The Minister of State knows west Clare as well as I do because he has often been there in both his current capacity and in his previous capacity as Minister of State. He knows that, if you are living on Loop Head or in Kilkee, you are an hour from Ennis, before you even get to head towards Limerick.
University Hospital Limerick, UHL, is catering for a population in excess of 400,000 people and there is only one consultant-led emergency department in the area that runs on a 24-hour basis. We all know and have read the horror stories coming out of UHL every week. I am certainly fully aware of them. I acknowledge the work that has been done to improve things in Limerick and the announcement by the Minister for Health in recent weeks that there is going to be a completely new hospital built, which will be co-located with UHL and will have its own emergency department. That is extremely welcome.
I am a realist. I know that we are not going to have 24-hour consultant-led accident and emergency services in Ennis. As much as I would love to say that should happen and will happen, I know it will not. However, there is an alternative, which is to put a helicopter base in west Clare. The HSE operates two helicopter services through the helicopter emergency medical service, HEMS. One is based in Athlone and the other is based in Cork. I also know that the Coast Guard provides very useful support to the National Ambulance Service in dealing with emergencies, particularly along the coast of County Clare. It deals with everything from tragedies off the Cliffs of Moher or off Doolin to providing back-up and support when there is a significant medical emergency.
I know there are plans for a third HSE-run National Ambulance Service-specific helicopter base. I would like it to be located in west Clare. There are plans for a base to cover the west and mid-west. I suggest that our situation is unique in that the distance from Kilkee, Kilrush and the west Clare hinterland to an already overcrowded emergency department is probably the most challenging in the country. On that basis and on the basis that we are not going to see a second emergency department in the region for a number of years, this third base should be in Kilrush, Kilkee or somewhere in that area. It would serve Kerry, Clare, Galway and up to Sligo, Mayo and Donegal because helicopters travel fast. In speaking on previous occasions, I have leaned on the geographical inequalities that exist. When people live in remote places, we have a duty of care to them and must ensure they have the same access as people in urban areas.I will conclude by commending the work being done by the first responders and the Coast Guard. I know at first hand the excellent work they do and I want to put that on record.
Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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On behalf of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, I thank Senator Conway for the opportunity to update the House on the delivery of aeromedical services for the people of west Clare and the surrounding area.
Ireland's helicopter emergency medical resources are consultant-led services and are deployed nationally on a basis of clinical need, enabling aeromedical support to be provided across all regions, including County Clare and the wider mid-west. As the Senator will be aware, the HSE currently supplies two dedicated HEMS, operated by the National Ambulance Service, NAS. These are the emergency aeromedical services operated in partnership with the Irish Air Corps, which operates out of Custume Barracks, Athlone, and is staffed by the Air Corps crews and NAS specialist paramedics.
This is something I am familiar with as it was set up after the downgrading of the Roscommon accident and emergency services. It has saved hundreds of lives, and I am very proud of that. There is also a dedicated HEMS service operating out of Rathcoole in north Cork. In addition, the Irish Coast Guard also provides an aeromedical service on an available basis, through its search and rescue helicopter network, and covers the mid-west region from its base in Shannon. I understand there is also one in Sligo, which also assists with the Air Corps. All aeromedical assets are tasked through the NAS emergency operations centre as part of the national emergency response network.
I can confirm to the Seanad that we are currently progressing development of a third HEMS to serve the west and north west regions, including the mid-west, and planning for the new HEMS is well advanced. The aviation provider has already commenced the required test flight programme, and I am informed the service is expected to become fully operational in September.
The introduction of a third HEMS service represents a significant enhancement of access to national specialist pre-hospital emergency care particularly for, as the Senator outlined, rural and coastal communities such as west Clare. More generally, the Government continues to prioritise increased investment in our National Ambulance Service. This year’s allocation of over €291.3 million for the NAS includes €20 million for new service developments. This will deliver an additional 263 positions to the service and will particularly help to support capacity building in our front-line emergency services. This investment will further develop the NAS intermediate care services and alternative care pathways to ensure growing numbers of patients receive treatment at the right clinical level, and that the NAS emergency response resources are preserved for appropriate high acuity work.
Finally, I offer my sincere thanks and gratitude to the staff of the NAS and all our ambulance services for their commitment and dedication to patient care, both in County Clare and across the country. This is something that has only happened in the past 15 years, where we have advanced paramedics, air ambulances and Coast Guard cover. It provides that timely 60-minute cover that is saving lives.
I am blown away by the amount of phone calls I have been getting, certainly with the air ambulance in Athlone in the past 15 years, from people at first hand whose lives have been saved. Of course, we need to do more. I thank the Senator again for bringing this very important issue to the floor of the Seanad.
Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State can justifiably take credit for the HEMS based in Athlone. He made the difficult decision back then to stick with the Government and it was not easy at the time but he has delivered that. This is what I want to deliver for west Clare.
Where is the helicopter going to be based? There are several identifiable sites in Clare. Kilkee certainly has availability, as does Kilrush. Spanish Point would be an ideal place for a helicopter to be based and would be able to respond in a matter of minutes to a 999 critical emergency call. I am interested to know where it is going to be based.
I very much welcome the fact it is being rolled out in September. This uses modern technology, quick transport options and advanced paramedics on-site to deal with and stabilise a patient before bringing them to get the acute treatment they require. It is the new way of dealing with medicine. It is on-the-spot and on-site; it saves lives. I am delighted to hear about the progress of the one in Athlone. I want to see the same in west Clare, because there are too many people there who find themselves in compromising positions, and sadly, with fatal consequences because there is not that access.
Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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In my opening statement, I focused mainly on aeromedical services in Ireland, particularly the helicopter emergency medical resourcing, HEMS, to provide access to emergency patient care for the people of the mid-west region, including west Clare.
In the context of the mid-west region, I am informed that NAS plans to add three additional emergency ambulances to the mid-west region to provide for improved patient access to emergency care. These resources will be located in Ennistymon, Kilrush and Nenagh. Furthermore, an additional intermediate care vehicle and a community paramedic will be deployed to the region for additional, lower acuity patient care, with both services to be based in Ennis. The NAS is also building further capacity in its national operations centre for increased capacity. Finally, a new ambulance base in Rossbrien is expected to be completed at the end of this year, with an investment that is part of an overall €15.8 million for 2026.
Again, this is good news and a lot of great work is being done. More importantly, lives are being saved. I thank the ambulance service and everyone involved in the great work it does. I see it from my door in Sligo, which is near Sligo Airport from where the Coast Guard helicopters also work.
Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State.