Motion re Ambulance Service:
“That Dáil Éireann:
acknowledging the:
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selfless dedication to their work of the paramedics in our ambulance service;
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high quality of care that they provide; and
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uniquely pressurised nature of the work they undertake;
recognises that:
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there is nationwide concern and disquiet about the provision of ambulance services;
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this situation can be exacerbated by delays in accident and emergency wards;
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in 2013 only one in every three people with life-threatening conditions were responded to within the target time;
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delays in ambulance response times far exceed both national and international accepted norms;
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large areas of the population right across the country are regularly left without any local ambulance cover;
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the Health Service Executive lowered the ambulance response time targets to 80 per cent in 2012 and 70 per cent in 2013; and
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the centralisation of control and dispatch has led to concerns about a lack of local knowledge and the impact that can have;
notes that:
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the Republic of Ireland, with a population of 4.6 million, has an ambulance service that employs less than 1,600 staff and an annual budget of €137.4 million;
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Northern Ireland, with a population of 1.7 million, has an ambulance service that employs just fewer than 1200 staff with an annual budget of £62 million (€78 million); and
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Scotland, with a population of 5.3 million, has an ambulance service that employs over 4,500 staff with an annual budget of £203.5 million (€258 million);
believes that:
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while paramedics do their utmost to provide a service to the highest international standards, this is impossible with current budgets;
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it is essential that paramedics be properly resourced to carry out their work; and
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such resources are not currently forthcoming from the Government; and
calls for the ambulance service to be appropriately resourced so as to ensure a safe and efficient service nationwide.”
Workers & Unemployed Action 