The provision of ambulance service in this instance is the statutory responsibility of the Eastern Health Board in the first instance. I understand from the board that all requests for emergency and urgent ambulance calls for the Dublin metropolitan area are responded to from Central Control, Townsend Street, which is staffed by controllers from both the Dublin Fire Brigade and the Eastern Health Board since February 1998. Mobilisation of emergency requirements i.e. ambulance/fire tender, is routinely discussed between both services and is subject to vehicle availability on both sides and on the severity of the incident-accident.
Depending on the information given by the caller, the emergency ambulance or the emergency fire rescue services may be mobilised to respond to the scene of an incident-accident. In some instances there are dual responses required to reduce delays in providing essential rescue-cutting equipment, provision of pre-hospital care and subsequent transportation of casualties to hospital.
Dublin Fire Brigade provides an emergency ambulance service on an ongoing contractual basis to the Eastern Health Board covering Dublin city. The Eastern Health Board continues to monitor and review the costs involved in the provision of all emergency ambulance services including the Dublin Fire Brigade ambulance service.
