Defibrillators Provision Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-24 ============================================================ Robbie Gallagher (FF), Labour Panel Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. The Minister of State is very welcome. For many years, communities across the country have come together to fundraise and install defibrillators, or automated external defibrillators, AEDs, as they are commonly known, for local community centres, sports facilities, schools, workplaces and public places. In some areas, individuals and businesses have sponsored the price of a defibrillator. We are greatly indebted to them all, as I am sure the Minister of State will agree. CFR Ireland is a national umbrella organisation for community first responder groups in Ireland. It is run by 4,000 volunteers organised in almost 350 local groups across the length and breadth of the country. These have access to 4,500 registered AEDs, although it is registered that there could be as many as 9,000 AED units located across the State. We owe this group of volunteers a huge debt of gratitude for being available 24-7 and attempting to save the lives of their neighbours. Everyone recognises the importance of the availability of AEDs to the survival of victims of heart attacks. They know how critical the first minutes can be and how an AED can both save a life and ensure a better recovery for the patient. The news is that a particular but apparently common model of AED, the HeartSine Samaritan defibrillator, is experiencing a problem with shortage of batteries, a critical component that ensures that AEDs are available if needed to save a life. I understand there is currently a global shortage of defibrillator batteries, which is driven by local supply chain demands and raw materials shortages. This is affecting various models, particularly the HeartSine model, which faces long-term delays. These delays are a serious challenge for workplaces, schools and entire communities which need an automated life-saving external defibrillator, AED. Having a defibrillator in our communities is crucial to ensure that sudden cardiac arrest survivals remain high. Having an AED in our community with no battery is the equivalent of having no AED at all. We have two major issues here. One is that we have a large number of defibrillators located the length and breadth of the country that people cannot get batteries for. The second is that only half of the 9,000 AEDs we have are registered. Someone needs to take control of this particular issue. We need to put in place a clear, structured and fully resourced strategy within the Department to ensure the oversight of AEDs is available and not solely left to volunteers. Someone needs to take charge of it. While community efforts have been invaluable, it is not sustainable, appropriate or fair to rely on goodwill when lives depend on these services. AEDs must be consistently accessible, visible and, more important, fully operational at all times. Proper systems and accountability are essential, so the maintenance and monitoring are carried out effectively, helping us to ensure and improve survival rates in emergencies. We have a serious problem as the model in question is the predominant model used in this country. We are talking about saving lives. The problem I have is that for such an important issue, no one seems to be in charge. It is up to local volunteers, many of whom work and have families and busy lives, to check if batteries are in order and so on. They are then confused about who to go to. The problem is we have loads of these machines with no batteries, which effectively means we have nothing. Someone needs to take charge. --- 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/2026-03-24/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:46+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-03-24