asked the Minister for Health when an ambulance service based in the Coolock area, Dublin, will be provided.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Dublin Ambulance Service.
10.
A contract has been placed for the erection of a fire station at Tonlegee Road to serve an area including Coolock. Work is scheduled for completion in 12 months. An ambulance and trained crews will be attached to the station giving a 24 hour coverage.
Could the Minister say whether there would be an ambulance on call in the meantime? In this section of Dublin there are about 100,000 people. In this particular area of Kilmore and Bonnybrook, there are 20,000 people and there are two telephones, which is one per 3,000 houses. Very often the telephones are out of order as there are many children in the area. People sometimes cannot get on. An ambulance, when needed, must come out from town and go back again. Could an ambulance be placed in the Garda barracks or some similar place in that area?
The fire station at Finglas will be in operation on a 24-hour basis in June. They can serve, where needed, in the area the Deputy speaks of. At present the place is served by the Buckingham Street fire station. According to the Dublin Health Authority the average time taken by the ambulance to travel to a patient is from six to eight minutes. The opening of the Finglas station will be in June. I hope the situation will be dealt with satisfactorily with the final opening of the Coolock station. There are unavoidable delays in providing both the Finglas and the Coolock stations.
Is the Minister aware that Finglas is about one-and-a-half miles away? Could the Minister not see his way to having an ambulance in the area of Raheny or Bonnybrook? There is no telephone service in the area. There is delay in getting to a telephone and in getting through. Often the telephone is out of order and the people must walk two miles to another booth. Would the Minister consider basing an ambulance at the police station in that area?
The Deputy should draw the attention of the Dublin Health Authority to this state of affairs.