Vol. 557 No. 6
154 Mr. J. Breen asked the Minister for Health and Children if, in view of the poor health service in west Clare and the distance from Ennis General Hospital and Limerick Regional Maternity Hospital, he will provide funding for an air ambulance service for this area. [23105/02]
The provision of ambulance services in County Clare is the responsibility of the Mid-Western Health Board in the first instance. The provision of an air ambulance service for emergency cases which cannot be safely conveyed by road ambulance is provided by the Air Corps and the marine search and rescue helicopter services of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources.
Under the Good Friday Agreement a number of areas were identified where North-South co-operation might be developed or enhanced. One of the working groups established to examine the area of planning for major emergencies, the Cross Border pre-hospital emergency care working group, proposed the commissioning of an independent feasibility study on the costs and benefits associated with the introduction of a dedicated helicopter emergency medical service covering the island of Ireland. The proposal for the feasibility study was endorsed at the meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council on 16 November 2001. In this context my Department and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (Belfast) have commissioned the feasibility study which at present is being undertaken by a firm of independent consultants. It is anticipated that the study will be completed towards year end.
