Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-22
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

I thank the Deputy for raising an important issue, particularly for his constituents in County Laois. We have a National Ambulance Service. I am sure the Deputy will appreciate I cannot run the National Ambulance Service from here but I will engage with the issues he raised and I will talk to the Minister for Health about them. The National Ambulance Service will always defend the model it has, and it has consistently defended it over time. Notwithstanding that, we have heard illustrations, observations or commentary from different parts of the House about how that service has not been optimal in terms delays attending particular accidents, events or locations. I heard about one yesterday from Deputy McAuliffe, involving an elderly woman in Dublin waiting four hours.
We will engage with the National Ambulance Service but the investment has continued apace. I take the point made by Deputy Bacik earlier that it is not just about investment. I accept that. It is about how the investment is deployed and allocated and what the productivity outcome is from moneys we allocate. Since about 2022, the HSE has invested about an additional €75 million in the National Ambulance Service, with staff numbers increasing by 761 in the same period. Over 85% of National Ambulance Service staff work in direct patient-facing roles. That does help improve ambulance response performance, with additional emergency ambulances, immediate care services and developing alternative care pathways, including community paramedic services.
As the Deputy knows, a new helicopter emergency medical service has been established in the west and the north west. That does not affect Laois. There is further investment this year as a result of the budget, with €34 million for renewal and expansion of the fleet. This is €34 million for emergency ambulances and other response vehicles. The investment is continuing. We are looking at about €291 million being spent on the National Ambulance Service in 2026, with about 2,503 employees. That is up again on the same period last year. Further investment is planned this year, with 21 extra crewed ambulances at peak demand, four intermediate care vehicles and the continued development of clinical hubs and alternative care pathways.
I will speak to the Minister about the emergency response vehicle for Laois and will ask her to reflect on and engage with the National Ambulance Service in terms of the model it uses.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-22