Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 September 2021
621. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Health if there are plans to address the current wait times for ambulances in the Dublin area as patients have reported hour-long waits for emergency ambulances. [44963/21]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, emergency ambulance services in Dublin are provided by the Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) through a funding arrangement between Dublin City Council and the HSE. In the first instance, queries relating to the performance oversight of the DFB are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
The HSE National Ambulance Service (NAS) also provides some emergency capacity within the greater Dublin area. Where required, the NAS also provides additional resources from neighbouring counties to address demand in Dublin, including motorbikes, rapid response vehicles and emergency ambulances. In addition, ambulances from other parts of the country, which may be travelling to or from a Dublin hospital, may be available to respond to emergency calls in the Dublin area where they are the nearest resource to a patient.
As emergency response time performance is an operational matter in the first instance, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly with any further information that might be available in regard to ambulance services provided by the NAS in the Dublin area.
