Ambulance Service

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 February 2026

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Thursday, 26 February 2026

Questions (534, 536, 538, 539, 540, 541, 542, 544, 545, 546, 558, 559)

Ken O'Flynn

Question:

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 since 2023 to address identified regional inequities in emergency ambulance response times. [15862/26]

Ken O'Flynn

Question:

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’s emergency performance framework. [15864/26]

Ken O'Flynn

Question:

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 the matter. [15866/26]

Ken O'Flynn

Question:

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]

Ken O'Flynn

Question:

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]

Ken O'Flynn

Question:

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 reviewed its impact on resource efficiency and regional coverage. [15871/26]

Ken O'Flynn

Question:

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 availability. [15872/26]

Ken O'Flynn

Question:

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]

Ken O'Flynn

Question:

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]

Ken O'Flynn

Question:

546. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department monitors instances where rural or peripheral areas are temporarily left without local ambulance cover due to cross-regional dispatch under national allocation protocols; the frequency of such occurrences in the past three years; and the safeguards in place to mitigate exposure risk in those areas. [15876/26]

Ken O'Flynn

Question:

558. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of occasions in 2025 on which the National Ambulance Service operated at NASCAP level 3; the duration in days of each such period; whether any escalation to level 4 was considered; and the formal reporting mechanism by which such escalation levels are notified to her Department. [15893/26]

Ken O'Flynn

Question:

559. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has undertaken or commissioned any comparative review of international ambulance service performance governance frameworks, including the use of outlier response time reporting, since 2018; and if so, to provide the title and date of such review and the principal findings. [15894/26]

Written answers

Minister for Health

I propose to take Questions Nos. 534, 536, 538, 539, 540, 541, 542, 544, 545, 546, 558 and 559 together.

I have asked the Health Service Executive (HSE) to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible with any pertinent information that it may have in regard to the specific requests for data raised in his questions.

As outlined in my response to Question 580 on 12 February, my Department remains committed to increasing investment in the National Ambulance Service (NAS) to grow service capacity to meet the continuous increase in patient demand. Between 2020 and 2025 funding for the NAS has increased by over 60% and has helped to provide for a growth in staffing of nearly 30%, of which over 85% work in direct patient facing roles.

In 2026, the HSE has approved 263 posts to help further strengthen ambulance frontline emergency response capacity, intermediate care services and alternative care pathways, as well as provide for the establishment of a new Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) serving the West and North-West of the country.

As outlined previously to the Deputy, each year the Health Service Executive's (HSE) National Service Plan (NSP) outlines the overarching goals across all of its operational areas. Within these goals specific draft Key Performance Indicators (KPI) targets are set out, which the HSE then agrees with my Department before the NSP is finalised and published.

Outside of the published KPIs the HSE maintains additional data which is used for the ongoing review of operational areas, including National Ambulance Service (NAS) performance and resourcing and such information is presented and considered by my Department including within the margins of the annual estimates process.

As the Deputy will be aware from my earlier answers, the HSE reports into my Department on a monthly basis on its performance against NSP KPIs and the performance results form the basis of ongoing engagement between my Department and the HSE throughout the year, with certain key performance areas escalated for attention where appropriate with a view toward achieving improvements.

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