Vol. 515 No. 3
212 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of occasions in the past six months when a 999 ambulance was not available to attend an emergency and a fire brigade had to attend instead; the nature of the emergency in each case; his views on the adequacy of the 999 ambulance service in the Dublin area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6236/00]
The provision and management of the ambulance service in the Dublin area is the statutory responsibility of the Eastern Health Board. I have asked the chief executive officer of the board to look into the matter and to reply directly to the Deputy.
I am pleased to advise the Deputy that this year £1.666 million has been provided to the Eastern Health Board towards the continued provision of an efficient ambulance service for the region. I will continue to provide additional resources for the development of the ambulance service in line with national policy in this regard.
