Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 April 2023
392. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Justice further to Parliamentary Question No. 461 of 24 January 2023, if he has received the necessary information from the Garda authorities to answer the question. [18957/23]
View answerThe Deputy is referring to Parliamentary Questions No. 461 of 24 January 2023, 521 of 14 February 2023, 514 of 7 March 2023 and 572 of 28 March 2023 seeking the estimated full-year cost of installing two defibrillators in each Garda station that is opened on a 24-7 basis; and the number of Garda stations that currently have a defibrillator installed.
As the Deputy will appreciate, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána. As Minister for Justice, I have no role in these matters.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that the estimated cost of installing two defibrillators units in each Garda station that is opened on a 24/7 basis would be in the region of €500,000.
It is worth noting that the above figure is based on the cost of the unit only and there may also be some additional costs, for example, the provision of a power source if not available within the required vicinity, training and maintenance. This would vary on a case-by-case basis.
While there is no An Garda Síochána policy regarding defibrillators in Garda Stations, I can inform the Deputy that records held by An Garda Síochána indicate that the Procurement Section of An Garda Síochána has purchased 79 Defibrillators / AEDs units between 2018 to date.
As recently stated by the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, enhanced community response is critical to improving cardiac arrest survival rates. This is recognised in the National Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Strategy (OHCA) “Putting Survival at the Heart of the Community” (2019).
According to Minister Donnelly the Governance Implementation Group for the Strategy have agreed their Priority Action Plan for 2023, and have continued a strong emphasis on strengthening the links of the Chain of Survival in the Irish community including the training, equipping and deploying high numbers of uniformed first responders including members of An Garda Síochána, retained fire services, GPs and off-duty ambulance staff.
I also understand from Minister Donnelly that an Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) Registry is currently in development.
