Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 306: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if she has given any direction in respect of the provision of ambulance services with particular reference to call out times throughout the country; if she has made any comparisons with the best or worst case scenarios; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35674/05]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The Deputy's question relates to the management and delivery of health and personal social services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the parliamentary affairs division of the executive to arrange to have this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.

As part of the reform of the health service a national ambulance office, NAO, has been established under the auspices of the national hospitals office within the HSE. The office has responsibility for the provision of pre-hospital emergency care nationally and is working closely with the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council, PHECC, which is the statutory body responsible for the development of standards in pre-hospital emergency care and the accreditation of institutions providing training for ambulance personnel.

The HSE has advised that ambulance service response times are regularly monitored and that the PHECC is formulating national response time targets. I am fully committed to the development of our emergency ambulance service and my Department has recently approved funding of €2m to be provided in 2006 for the development of pre-hospital emergency care services nationally.