Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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771. To ask the Minister for Health the target response times for ambulances in Dublin; if he receives a regular report of performance against these; and his views on recent difficulties experienced in meeting these targets. [33712/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, emergency ambulance services in Dublin are provided by the Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) through a funding arrangement between Dublin City Council and the HSE.  In the first instance, queries relating to the performance oversight of the DFB are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.  The HSE National Ambulance Service (NAS) also provides some emergency capacity within the greater Dublin area, where required.

There has been a sharp increase in emergency calls, including in Dublin, since the early summer of 2021.  Last year a record of over 366,000 emergency calls were received and current demand in 2022 to the end of April is already over 12% higher than at the same period in 2021. Furthermore, necessary COVID-related infection prevention and control measures, have increased time spent with patients and posed challenges to meeting key response time targets.