Ambulance Service

833. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 145 of 20 November 2025, if she will provide an update on the project (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16483/26]

843. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Health the number of rapid response vehicles in each county in each of the years 2021 to 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16521/26]

844. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Health when the rapid response vehicle will be re-instated in Monaghan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16522/26]

862. Deputy Ann Graves asked the Minister for Health if she will address and resolve the unfair and unprecedented change to established practice of granting contracts to persons who successfully complete training (details supplied). [16642/26]

904. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Health the reason the National Ambulance Service has asked a cohort of recently qualified paramedics to sign temporary contracts and apply for permanent jobs, rather than automatically transition into permanent positions as they have done historically; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16926/26]

905. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Health whether there is a risk some newly qualified paramedics will not be hired by the National Ambulance Service as a result of the service’s new application process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16927/26]

906. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Health whether there is a risk the National Ambulance Service’s operations could be disrupted by staffing issues as a result of the service’s new trainee application process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16928/26]

907. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Health whether it is now National Ambulance Service policy to not automatically transition newly qualified paramedics into permanent contracts upon graduation, as they have historically done so; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16929/26]

925. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Health her views on the decision of the National Ambulance Service to offer 12-week temporary contacts to new graduates; the reason permanent positions have not been offered as has been the case for previous graduates; if permanent positions will be offered; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16960/26]

968. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health to urgently intervene in the case of paramedics (details supplied); if she will ensure that permanent NAS positions will be offered to paramedics who successfully complete training as was always the case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17188/26]

970. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health the reason in a break from custom and practice, a cohort of approximately 80 newly-qualified paramedics in the National Ambulance Service (NAS) have been advised that they must apply for permanent positions in order to remain employed by NAS; and if she will intercede to progress the awarding of permanent positions which this cohort were led…

532. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether it is Departmental policy that an ambulance response exceeding 60 minutes to a clinical status 1 purple or red emergency call does not, of itself, constitute a notifiable patient safety incident under the HSE Incident Management Framework; the policy basis for that position; and whether she will review that policy in the context of her …

533. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has, since 1 January 2023, received any aggregated report, briefing, risk register entry, or governance submission identifying delayed ambulance response as a contributory factor in patient harm or adverse outcomes; the number of such instances recorded; and whether her Department has conducted any formal policy review ar…

534. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department receives regional disaggregated performance data for clinical status 1 purple and red emergency calls as part of the annual Service Plan governance framework; whether her Department undertakes structured comparative analysis of response performance between HSE regions; and the specific policy directives issued by her sinc…

535. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department or the HSE has undertaken any analysis of mortality, morbidity, or adverse clinical outcomes for clinical status 1 Purple or Red emergency calls stratified by response time bands (0–19 minutes, 20–30 minutes, 31–45 minutes, 46–60 minutes, and over 60 minutes) during the period 2023 to date; if so, to provide details of th…

536. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the National Ambulance Service records the number of clinical status 1 Purple and Red emergency calls where the response time exceeds 30 minutes, 45 minutes, and 60 minutes; if so, to provide the total number in each category for each of the past three years; and if not, the policy rationale for not capturing such data within the State’…

537. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has issued any policy guidance defining the circumstances in which prolonged ambulance response times constitute patient safety incidents; whether delays exceeding 60 minutes in life-threatening emergencies are automatically reviewed under the HSE Incident Management Framework; and if not, the governance basis for excludi…

538. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the approved whole-time equivalent staffing target for the National Ambulance Service for each year 2023 to 2026 under the NAS Workforce Plan; the actual WTE achieved in each year; the variance between target and actual; and the measures being taken to close the current capacity deficit (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on th…

539. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department conducts formal comparative analysis of ambulance response performance between HSE regions; whether any equity standard exists to ensure consistent life-threatening emergency response across regions; and the corrective mechanisms triggered where sustained regional underperformance is identified. [15867/26]

540. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health how long the National Ambulance Service has operated above NASCAP Level 1 since 2022; the total number of days spent at Levels 2 and 3 in each of the past three years; and whether the Department considers a prolonged state of escalation compatible with stable emergency service governance. [15868/26]

541. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether a national policy exists within the National Ambulance Service requiring that a life-threatening emergency call be allocated to the next available ambulance within a fixed time window, including a 90-second allocation protocol; when this policy was introduced; the clinical or operational rationale underpinning it; and whether she has re…

542. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of occasions in each of the past three years where an ambulance assigned to a life-threatening emergency call was dispatched from outside the county in which the incident occurred; the average travel distance and time in such cases; and whether her Department has assessed the impact of long-distance dispatch on local ambulance availa…

543. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of instances in each of the past three years where an ambulance dispatched to a life-threatening emergency call travelled more than 20 minutes, 30 minutes, or 45 minutes before being stood down due to reassignment; whether such redeployments are reviewed for resource efficiency and patient safety impact; and whether national guidelin…

544. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department or HSE has undertaken any cost-benefit or efficiency analysis of the current national dispatch model, including fuel expenditure, crew time utilisation, overtime costs, and opportunity cost arising from cross-regional dispatch and stand-down; and if so, to provide details. [15878/26]

545. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any formal clinical risk assessment has been conducted in relation to the National Ambulance Service dispatch model where units are assigned across regions under a time-based allocation protocol; whether this model has been benchmarked against alternative international dispatch systems; and whether any review is planned. [15875/26]