Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 February 2026
1179. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether she has directed, or will direct, the National Ambulance Service to collect and publish monthly data on the number of emergency calls classified as clinical status 1 purple and red where the response time exceeds 60 minutes; if not, the reasons this data is not currently required as part of national performance oversight; and the date from which such reporting will commence. [8611/26]
View answer1180. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the rationale for excluding response times exceeding 60 minutes for clinical status 1 purple and red emergency calls from the key performance indicators of the National Ambulance Service; when this policy decision was taken; and whether she considers the exclusion of extreme delays to be consistent with patient safety and international best practice in emergency care governance. [8612/26]
View answer1181. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health when she was first made aware that the National Ambulance Service does not collate or report data on life-threatening emergency calls where response times exceed 60 minutes; whether this issue has been raised with her Department by the HSE or the NAS; and what actions, if any, she has taken since becoming aware of this gap in oversight. [8613/26]
View answer1182. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health what formal escalation, intervention, or corrective measures are triggered when national or regional response time targets for clinical status 1 purple and red emergency calls are not met by the National Ambulance Service; whether any such measures were triggered during 2025; and if not, how target compliance is enforced in practice. [8614/26]
View answer1183. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether median response times for clinical status 1 purple and red emergency calls are collected by the National Ambulance Service; if so, to provide the median response times for each of the past 12 months by HSE region; and if not, the reasons median data is not used alongside averages in assessing emergency response performance. [8615/26]
View answer1184. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the assessment her Department has undertaken of the persistent variation in emergency ambulance response performance between HSE regions for clinical status 1 purple and red calls; whether staffing levels, fleet availability, or geographic coverage have been identified as contributory factors; and the national actions which are being taken to address regional inequity in emergency response times. [8616/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1179, 1180, 1181, 1182, 1183 and 1184 together.
As the Deputy may be aware, my Department assesses HSE performance, including that of the National Ambulance (NAS), against targets and objectives outlined in the annual HSE National Service Plan (NSP) using a comprehensive Performance Engagement Model. Through this model, performance is monitored across four domains - Quality, Access, People, and Money - against the key performance indicators set out in the NSP.
The HSE reports monthly on these indicators through the National Performance Report, and the Department and HSE engage in regular, structured discussions to review performance, address challenges, and agree any required actions.
In regard to current NAS performance, despite a further increase in patient demand for emergency ambulance services in 2025 of between 5 and 6% when compared to 2024, NAS national urgent and emergency response performance has remained close to achieving its 2025 HSE NSP KPI targets. In the year to date to November 2025, NAS response time performance for PURPLE (cardiac/respiratory emergencies) calls was 72% against an NSP KPI target of 75%, and 45% for RED (all other emergencies) calls, meeting the 45% KPI target.
On resourcing, the Government remains committed to investing significantly in the NAS. Funding in 2025 provided for 180 additional NAS posts to support emergency frontline services, the expansion of NAS alternative care pathways, and further development of NAS specialist services. Recruitment of these posts is continuing in 2026 with 134 of the 180 now onboarded.
HSE has planned an additional 263 posts for NAS in 2026, to build further frontline emergency response and intermediate care capacity, establish a new Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) serving the West and North-West of the country, and provide for further development of NAS alternative care pathways which are designed to avoid unnecessary Hospital ED conveyance for patients where not clinically required.
As the Deputy may also be aware, outside of the data published against the HSE NSP KPI's, the HSE also collects data for a broad range of other service performance metrics that inform their own performance oversight and operational planning processes. As such, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy with any further pertinent information it may have in response to the specific NAS performance and other service issues raised in his questions.
