Defibrillators Provision Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-11 ============================================================ Robbie Gallagher (FF), Labour Panel Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit chuig an Teach. I welcome him back to his old stomping ground and thank him for taking time out of his busy schedule to be here. I wish to raise a very important issue with him. A striking feature of our towns, villages, sporting grounds and other facilities all over the country in the past few years has been the growth in the provision of automated external defibrillators, AEDs, by local communities. Communities understand the value and importance of the availability of defibrillators and indeed of learning first aid. I commend all those volunteers who give up their time freely to provide this service. They truly are lifesavers. I recently attended a presentation by the Irish Heart Foundation where such issues were underlined. The foundation is advocating first aid and CPR questions be added to the driver theory test. This measure is being introduced in the UK early next year with the aim of increasing cardiac arrest survival rates by ensuring many people know how to respond in an emergency situation. First aid and CPR questions are being added to the UK driver theory test with a focus on basic lifesaving skills like using a defibrillator and performing chest compressions as motorists are the first responders to cardiac arrests. The aim is to boost survival rates. Road traffic accidents can cause cardiac arrests due to trauma and shock and they can also be caused by drivers experiencing cardiac arrest. Drivers may encounter people who have collapsed along the roadside, or on streets, or out walking or jogging or at bus stops, service stations or carparks. It makes sense that generating greater knowledge of CPR and its use and a greater confidence in knowing what to do in an emergency situation could save a life. Cardiac arrest survival has increased since recordings began in 2012, during which time awareness and the number of people receiving CPR training have grown significantly, which is very welcome. In 2024 emergency services attended 2,885 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Ireland where resuscitation was attempted, with 230 lives being saved as a result. That is absolutely marvellous. The time it takes to provide defibrillation is the most critical factor for survival following a cardiac arrest and the importance of quick actions by bystanders before ambulance crews arrive cannot be underestimated. There is an 80% chance of survival if a defibrillator is activated within two minutes. The survival rate reduces by approximately 10% for every minute that passes before CPR and defibrillation. When bystanders have the confidence to know what to do in such emergencies lives can really be saved. As the Minister of State will be aware learners prepare for their driving test by studying official RSA material on hazards, signs, vehicle safety and other matters. However, with first aid and CPR training learner drivers can become potential lifesavers. This initiative makes perfect sense and I hope the Minister of State and the Department will take this on board because it could make the difference between somebody’s life being saved and not. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-12-11/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:27+00:00 Sitting date: 2025-12-11