Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 October 2018
199. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Health if a direct funding arrangement to Dublin City Council will be introduced, in accordance with the terms of the motion passed by Dáil Éireann on 19 June 2018 and which was supported by the Government, in respect of the cost of the emergency ambulance service operated by the council under the provisions of the Fire Services Act 1981; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43061/18]
View answer227. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Health if the plan prepared in 2013 by the HSE and the national ambulance service to take over the emergency ambulance service operated by the Dublin Fire Brigade and to progressively withdraw funding from Dublin City Council for that service will not now be implemented with regard to the terms of the motion passed by Dáil Éireann on 19 June 2018 which was supported by the Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43053/18]
View answer228. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Health the arrangements he has put in place to implement all of the terms of the motion passed by Dáil Éireann on 19 June 2018 which was supported by the Government relating to the fire based emergency ambulance service operated by the Dublin Fire Brigade; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43054/18]
View answer229. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Health if an interim information technology arrangement, that is, installation of terminals in the NEOC Tallaght and the Dublin Fire Brigade call centre to ensure that the nearest available ambulance responds to emergency incidents in Dublin, will be introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43055/18]
View answer230. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Health the progress he has made in consultation with the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government in introducing a direct funding arrangement to Dublin City Council in respect of the operation by Dublin Fire Brigade of the emergency ambulance service in accordance with the terms of the motion passed by Dáil Éireann on 19 June 2018 which was supported by the Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43056/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 199 and 227 to 230, inclusive, together.
I can assure the Deputy that there are no plans for the National Ambulance Service to take over responsibility for the delivery of emergency ambulance services in Dublin. It is however proposed to transfer all Dublin ambulance call taking and dispatch functions to the HSE National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), such that all such services across the state are consolidated in one centre. This is required because the current call taking arrangements in Dublin represent an unacceptably high patient safety risk and give rise to delays in the allocation of ambulance resources to patients, including in potentially life-threatening situations.
There have been suggestions that we could find a technical solution by updating the computers in the Dublin Fire Brigade call centre in Townsend St. That has been examined but I am advised that it would not resolve the problem and address the patient safety risk. What is required is a seamless operation with one point of contact for Dublin.
Dublin City Council and the HSE have been working together in an attempt to resolve the issues and a mediation process between the Council and staff associations has been underway, for some time. I would welcome the early conclusion of those discussions as we urgently need to address the current patient safety risk.
I fully accept the need to look at funding mechanisms to ensure that the emergency ambulance service provided by Dublin Fire Brigade is placed on a sustainable footing and that we have the required capacity to meet demand. I look forward to the outcome of the mediation process which will, I expect, address these issues.
