The Defence Forces maintain a small ambulance fleet to transfer Military personnel to and between hospitals, and to attend training exercises. Such exercises would include artillery shoots, weapons shoots, live battle practices and other operational exercises. Whilst the primary role of the ambulance fleet is to meet the needs of the Defence Forces, through local arrangements between the HSE and the Military authorities the National Ambulance Service also receives support from the Defence Forces Training Centre (Curragh) to meet additional demands on its services in the locality.
The table below contains details of the number of call outs during the period in question. It should be noted that Military call outs include deployments to training exercises, some of which would have taken place over a number of days but which are recorded as a single deployment.
Year
|
Military
|
HSE Support
|
Total
|
2011
|
71
|
323
|
394
|
2012
|
92
|
207
|
299
|
2013 to date
|
61
|
274
|
335
|