Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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408. To ask the Minister for Health the reason there are two ambulance controls in Dublin city; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9602/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) has provided emergency ambulance services in Dublin since 1898.

Emergency calls for ambulances in the Dublin area are managed from the DFB control room in Townsend Street, Dublin, where DFB personnel take calls, and dispatch resources, for both ambulance and fire services.Emergency calls for ambulances outside of the Dublin area are managed through the National Emergency Operations Centre.

The current call taking arrangements in Dublin represent an unacceptably high patient safety risk and can give rise to delays in the allocation of ambulance resources to patients, including in potentially life-threatening situations. Since the 1990s several reports have raised concerns about the existence of two separate ambulance call and dispatch centres in Dublin.

In line with recommendations set out in these reports , Dublin City Council and the HSE have proposed the transfer of all DFB ambulance call taking and dispatch functions to the National Emergency Operations Centre, such that all such services across the state are consolidated in one centre. This issue is currently the subject of a mediation process between Dublin City Council and DFB staff associations.