I propose to take Questions Nos. 624, 625 and 627 together.
The Deputy may be aware that, following a referral to the Labour Court under the Public Service Agreement, the HSE National Ambulance Service (NAS) is currently progressing a number of efficiencies arising from a decision of that court. These operational efficiencies include the removal of on-call arrangements in rosters, where ambulance staff are not actually on duty in ambulance stations or vehicle but may be contacted in the event of a 999 call. This means that it could take over 20 minutes for an emergency ambulance to leave its station after the crew has been tasked. All parties have accepted that, in accordance with a Labour Court recommendation, providing ambulance services under on-call arrangements should cease.
The NAS is not a static service. It deploys its resources in a dynamic manner and works on an area and national, rather than a local, basis. The dynamic deployment of ambulance resources ensures that the nearest appropriate resource is mobilised to the location of any incident, including incidents in the greater Dublin area. In this context, any removal of overtime inefficiencies will be addressed through more efficient deployment and utilisation of resources.
As the details of rostering policy for the ambulance service, including details of any regional variation are, operational matters for the HSE, this question has been forwarded to the HSE to reply directly to the Deputy.