asked the Minister for Health if the special mobile emergency unit which costs in the region of £40,000, deployed at Cork Regional Hospital, is included in the emergency plan for the area; if an agreement has been reached with the unions on its use; and if it is equipped to maintain direct contact with the fire service and the Garda in the event of an emergency.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Cork Emergency Plan.
11.
The Southern Health Board have informed me that the special mobile emergency unit, known as a mobile control vehicle, to which the Deputy refers is included in the major accident plan for the area.
No agreement has been reached with the unions as to its use.
It is equipped to maintain direct contact with the fire service and the Garda in the event of an emergency.
Did I understand the Minister to say that no agreement had been reached by the unions?
That is true.
Will the Minister inform the House when the mobile emergency unit was provided to the Southern Health Board and what negotiations are going on with the unions in relation to its use? In relation to the direct contact with the fire service and the Garda, what is the position?
The vehicle is an equipment transporter. It brings stretchers, blankets, rescue equipment and so on and is an on-site communications centre at a major accident. Experience indicated that the old ambulances were suitable for conversion for this purpose and this became as a mobile control and equipment carrier. Unfortunately the Southern Health Board ran into difficulties in getting the ambulance drivers at the Cork Regional Hospital to undergo training and in getting them to agree to transfer first aid equipment from the old to the new. The union sought an increase in payment for operating such a vehicle. The board rejected the claim and the Local Government Staff Negotiations Board became involved and the matter has not yet been resolved. It has been going on now for three years and I just hope that they do not have a major accident.
Is the mobile unit equipped to maintain contact with the Garda and the fire service in the case of an emergency?
Yes, the vehicle at Cork is equipped with direct telephone and radio communication with other services but it has not been used for several years.
Since the dispute has been going on for three years and since the emergency unit is unavailable in the event of a major emergency in the Cork region, will the Minister attempt to initiate some conciliation talks on the matter since the issue seems to be at a stalemate?
There have been meetings between the parties as far back as March 1983, September 1983 and December 1983. There was further contact with the national ambulance council. The ITGWU, the union concerned, were not prepared to discuss it as a local problem. They wished for a national decision but the matter has not been resolved. There is little immediate prospect of agreement on the operation of these units. I just hope there is not a major accident in that area for which we have to apportion responsibility.