Louis O'Hara
Galway East · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“There are significant concerns about the reform that is being proposed to have CAP sit alongside a range of other policy areas. In particular under the Commission's proposal, CAP funding for Ireland would be cut by over 20%.”
“Absolutely, and that is why it is critical we get a fair allocation. In particular, the future of CAP will have a significant influence on how EU member states can support young farmers. Last year, the Department of agriculture published a report from the commission on generational renewal in farming.”
“No parent should have to worry about what will happen to their child when they can no longer provide care for them, yet years of underfunding and a failure to plan has left our residential support system in crisis and families are left carrying the responsibility even as parents themselves age into their 70s, 80s and beyond.”
“Adults with intellectual disabilities have the same right as every other citizen to live with dignity, safety and independence and the Government has a legal and moral obligation to provide these services. There are so many basic things we are not getting right.”
“I raise the case of a constituent in County Galway who has experienced lifelong difficulties and trauma as a result of historical abuse at the hands of a member of the Christian Brothers who was his primary school teacher. The individual who carried out the abuse has since been convicted.”
“They cannot just be uprooted into an emergency placement down the line. The parents need to be there for the transition to ensure that it works properly and does not cause challenges for that person or, indeed, those who will be caring for them.”
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“I met local residents there recently. It is absolutely lethal. That also appears to have been put on the long finger. The town of Kinvarra has also seen little progress in seeing much-needed pedestrian crossings and traffic calming measures installed on the N67 through the village. This is a very busy road. A lot of students use this road to walk to and from school. There have been a number of accidents in the village recently, yet the local community cannot get as much as a pedestrian crossing, which they have been demanding for years. There are countless other examples but the likes of these projects need to prioritised.”
“In Dunmore, I recently attended a protest, as did the Minister of State, where hundreds of residents expressed their frustration at the failure to progress the Bridge Street regeneration and road widening project. Bridge Street is a bottleneck for users of the N83. The junction there is also a major safety risk. It is a scandal that a street anywhere would be left in such a dangerous and derelict condition, never mind one on a national road. Residents have waited years for these promised improvement works. That must be prioritised for delivery. In Headford, local residents have been voicing concerns for years about the area surrounding the Cloughanover junction on the N84, a national road. This is an extremely busy road in an area with shops, a community centre and a school nearby, yet cars can fly by at 100 km/h.”
“Despite the tone of the Department of Transport's initial reaction stating that the report's recommendations would radically transform road safety in Ireland, we recently saw the Minister of State backtrack on these plans. Sadly, this backtracking reflects a wider failure by the Government to implement road safety actions and infrastructure across the State. We see this also in the Government's failure to ensure legislation and regulation is fit for purpose and enforced in relation to scrambler bikes, which are terrorising many communities across the State. This is something that has been raised by my colleagues in the House for many years. In my constituency, Galway East, many towns and villages have seen road safety projects delayed. This is having a significant impact on safety in those areas.”
“My thoughts are with all those impacted by the crash in Dublin today and the family of Grace Lynch. The year 2025 was the worst year for road fatalities in over ten years and represented a growing trend of Irish roads becoming less safe. Last year, An Garda Síochána recorded 190 people dying on our roads and over 1,000 people being injured as a result of collisions. Each statistic represents a life lost, a wider family devastated, and demonstrates the constant work needed to make our roads safe for all who use them. In 2024, a report commissioned by the then Minister for Transport recommended the splitting of the RSA into two separate bodies; one with responsibility for road safety and another to oversee processes such as driver testing.”
“The message from farmers is loud and clear: Larry Murrin must go. The Minister, Deputy Heydon, must use his powers to put an end to this mess and restore confidence in this organisation.”
“The Government has allowed this situation to drag on for weeks now. Its failure to act has damaged further the reputation of Bord Bia. This comes at a time when the Irish Government has failed to block the Mercosur trade agreement. Given the recent outbreaks of bluetongue, and with the future of CAP at stake, this is the very last thing the farming sector needs to be dealing with right now. Yet, the Minister comes in here tonight and tell us that everything is all right and there is nothing to see here. Whether the Minister likes it or not, the farmers do not have confidence in Larry Murrin's position as the chairman. We have brought this motion before the Dáil tonight to bring an end to this fiasco. The Minister appointed Larry Murrin to this position and the Minister can also remove him from it.”
“There is also the image of an organisation whose whole remit is to promote the quality of Irish food around the world yet its chairman is importing foreign beef into Ireland. How could anybody stand over this situation? How can the Minister seriously believe this does not damage the image of Bord Bia and undermine its work? When this issue was raised last week the Minister decided against taking action to hold Mr. Murrin to account and instead chose to lay the blame for this controversy with Irish farmers and farming organisations. The Minister told them they were being "emotional". This was absolutely insulting. It shows that the Government seems to be totally indifferent to the views of farmers, the very same people who produce the food and on whom the success of Bord Bia is built.”
“The position of Larry Murrin as chairman of Bord Bia is untenable. The revelations surrounding his company's importation of substandard Brazilian beef into Ireland are an insult to Irish farmers and have created a crisis of confidence within Bord Bia. The farmers I speak to in my constituency have totally lost confidence in the chairman and they are also beginning to lose total confidence in the Government through the Minister's handling of this fiasco. This is fundamentally about the double standards that are now on show. Through Bord Bia Irish farmers must meet the strictest food production standards while at the same time the organisation's chairman is importing Brazilian beef into Ireland.”
“How can he seriously suggest that people with disabilities should have to wait for a year - spend a full year in poverty - and then he might fix this problem? The Government must recognise the fact that living with a disability comes with increased costs. People need supports that reflect that in the here and now. I call on the Government not only to support this motion but to act on it and ensure it provides an emergency cost-of-disability payment as soon as possible.”
“The reality is that the Minister's decision to cut essential supports has left disabled people across this State in poverty and having to make the most difficult decisions to get by and get the bills paid when we have rising costs across the board. This is unforgivable. We know that people with disabilities are already disproportionately at risk of poverty and social exclusion, yet the Minister made this choice because the stance of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independents on disability has been consistently out of touch. They only acknowledge the poverty people with disabilities face at election time when it suits them. The Minister stated that the Government will consider a cost-of-disability payment in next year's budget.”
“Budget 2026 was an insult to people with disabilities. All through the winter people have suffered as their income has taken a serious hit. The withdrawal of supports in this year's budget has left people with disabilities worse off by €1,400. This was a shocking betrayal of people with disabilities, who were promised the sun, moon and stars by the Government parties during the general election campaign. It was already difficult enough for people with disabilities to get by. The Disability Federation of Ireland tells us that households with a disabled member require, on average, 50% extra disposable income to achieve the same standard of living as a similar household with no disabled members. Many constituents have been in touch with me outlining the stark impact the withdrawal of support is having on them.”
“Gifting the site to a section 39 organisation would ensure the potential for greater flexibility to co-locate other facilities at the site if it was owned and operate by such an organisation. Toghermore could be an example of best practice of how we can create an inclusive campus that supports the needs of children and adults with disabilities in Tuam and the surrounding area. I urge the Minister of State to engage with the HSE, Ability West, and other organisations in the local area, and ensure that this project is progressed quickly.”
“I thank the Minister of State for the update. I understand that the review is ongoing. I urge him to ensure that this is progressed as quickly as possible and that there is engagement with the local organisations like Ability West around the potential for equine therapy there. It would be a game-changer for Tuam and north Galway as a whole. There is a chronic lack of sporting facilities in the area and the potential development of an equine therapy centre would also be an opportunity to support the development of sporting facilities. Many local clubs and schools do not have these facilities. There is a wider need for a communal sports area that the whole community could use.”
“That organisation could also engage with local sports clubs to explore whether sporting facilities could also be co-located at the site. To do this, the HSE would need to engage with any such organisation and, to date, this meaningful engagement has not happened. Will the Minister of State provide an update on this issue and on the review into the future of the Toghermore site?”
“The Toghermore site has the potential to not only provide these benefits to the local community but also to become a regional centre for this form of therapy in the west of Ireland. I am of the understanding that as of last year the HSE was reviewing the future use of the Toghermore site. I recently met with Ability West to discuss disability services across County Galway and the proposed Toghermore project was raised with me. Given the massive potential of this project and the likely delays in securing funding if it were to be a HSE capital project, there is a view locally that other options should be considered in progressing this project. One such option could be the potential gifting of the land to a section 39 organisation to allow it to progress this project.”
“I raise the proposed development of an equine therapy centre at the Toghermore House site located in Tuam. Toghermore House is owned by the HSE. It previously hosted a number of mental health support services until these services were relocated to a separate facility in Tuam in 2023. Since the relocation of these services, there have been proposals to develop the site, along with its over 40 acres of land, into an equine therapy centre. However, to date, no concrete plans have been progressed. Equine therapy offers significant physical, emotional and cognitive benefits to children and adults with disabilities. There are many examples of similar therapy centres. The Liskennett farm, which is based on the Cork-Limerick border, demonstrates the benefits these centres bring to both service users and the local community.”
“The NHS in Britain has introduced mental health emergency departments. It can be done here and it will save lives. We have to stop sending people experiencing a crisis to inappropriate settings like overcrowded accident and emergency departments. People at their most vulnerable deserve 24/7 urgent crisis care in dedicated facilities so this is a hugely important motion and one that I call on Government to support but crucially to act on as well.”
“In Galway, there have sadly been multiple instances of people taking their own lives after presenting at a hospital emergency department. I acknowledge the work of Joe Loughnane, who sadly lost his brother Adam in these circumstances almost one year ago. Following the tragic death of his brother, Joe has campaigned relentlessly for the establishment of specific mental health accident and emergency departments and has gathered over 20,000 signatures to his petition calling for this. This motion is calling for dedicated mental health emergency rooms staffed by specialist professionals separate from the chaos of general hospital emergency departments and real investment in community-based crisis care so that timely and safe mental health support is available to everybody who needs it.”
“The reality is those lives continue to be lost because of the State's failure to care for people experiencing a mental health crisis. We know that each year, 50,000 people try to access mental health services for the first time through hospital emergency departments. This is not an appropriate setting for people who are in severe mental distress at their most vulnerable. I think the Minister of State has to accept that. The Mental Health Commission report has confirmed that general emergency departments are failing people in mental health crisis every day. That report stated that mental health patients in both Galway hospitals - UHG and Portiuncula - are left waiting for prolonged periods in the emergency departments.”
“At the very minimum, they could take action to make it safe. They can afford it. There is absolutely no doubt about that. Therefore, the issue here is one of accountability. Is the Government going to take action and hold them accountable for leaving this site in a dangerous and derelict condition for the last 15 years? Will the Government give a commitment that it will support the local authority to CPO the property, if necessary, and make the site safe again?”
“I cannot stress enough how dangerous it is and the risk of somebody getting hurt or losing their life. I do not want to hear more excuses or more kicking the can down the road. It is a problem that is not being addressed. I want to know what the Minister if State is going to do now to ensure that the owners of this property are actually held accountable and that the building is at the very least made safe. To go back to my earlier question in terms of the hoarding around the building, does that mean this site automatically cannot be on the derelict sites register because there is not hoarding around the building? There is hoarding around the building. I ask the Minister of State to clarify that. The owners of the hotel - the Comer brothers - are very wealthy people. They could redevelop the site.”
“I appreciate the response, but from what the Minister of State has outlined, if we are talking about CPO, would the Government provide the support to Galway County Council for what is presumably a very expensive building to be able to acquire that and, at a minimum, make the site safe? The planning permission on this has lapsed. The developers have no intention of redeveloping this hotel. It has been left in a derelict state for 15 years. It is an eyesore and a safety hazard. Young children are going in and out. Somebody has to take responsibility for this. It cannot be allowed to continue. I have raised this a number of times in this Chamber. It is not a new issue. I have raised it with the Tánaiste and the Minister for Finance. Government is well aware of this issue and the impact it is having on the town of Portumna.”
“The group believes the Shannon Oaks Hotel should be the focus of development of tourist accommodation with the locality. I again call on Coillte to engage meaningfully with the local community in relation to its proposals for the forest park. I call on the Government to support that call also. How can the owners of this hotel, the Comer brothers, be allowed to leave this hotel, which is an eyesore and a safety hazard, in this condition indefinitely and will they be held accountable?”
“Galway County Council's position is that the site does not meet the definition of "derelict" within the Derelict Sites Act because it has hoarding all the way around it most of the time. This building does not have a roof on most of the structure. I want clarity from the Government on this. If a site has hoarding erected around it, does that automatically mean it is not classified as derelict? That has been the position of Galway County Council. I ask the Minister of State to clarify that in his response. At the same time, we have Coillte developing proposals for Portumna Forest Park, which borders the site of the Shannon Oaks Hotel. A survey carried out by a local community group showed clear opposition to the idea of building tourist accommodation in the forest park.”
“We know that people are entering the site. There have been videos taken from within the building. They show it in a dangerous condition and a state of total disrepair. The people who enter the site are trespassing but the reality is that derelict sites will attract curiosity, from young people especially. They attract antisocial behaviour and there is a serious risk of somebody being hurt, not to mention the fact that the building is a serious eyesore. It really detracts from the appearance of the village. Portumna is a fantastic town and one that is very popular with tourists. It has a lot to offer but this takes away from that. The site was previously on the derelict sites register. It is no longer on it.”
“The former Shannon Oaks Hotel in Portumna has been lying in a dangerous and derelict state for 15 years. I have raised this matter a number of times. The local community has been promised repeatedly that the site will be secured and the hotel redeveloped. The closure of the hotel has been a huge loss to Portumna, an area with serious tourism potential but a lack of tourist accommodation. Efforts have been made to engage with the owners of the hotel, the Comer brothers, with a view to having the hotel reopened. They have not been successful. The planning permission for the redevelopment of the hotel has now lapsed, confirming that, as it stands, the owners still do not have any intention of redeveloping the hotel. All the while, the building lies empty, idle and in a derelict condition. The hoarding around the site is regularly breached.”
“The position of Larry Murrin as chairman of Bord Bia is totally untenable. He has direct involvement in the importation of substandard Brazilian beef into Ireland. No Irish food processor should be importing this product into Ireland, but the fact that the chair of Bord Bia, an organisation that is tasked with promoting the quality of Irish food around the world, is absolutely outrageous. It is a conflict of interest and it undermines Irish farming. It is an absolute insult to Irish farmers, who have to meet the highest standards in food production. The Government appointed him to this position. It now needs to hold him accountable. It also needs to stop dodging the question: does it have confidence in him and will it remove him from this position?”
“What does the Minister have to say to those families in my constituency? When are we finally going to see affordable housing delivered at scale in east Galway?”
“In my constituency of Galway East, not one affordable home has been delivered in towns like Athenry, Tuam and Loughrea. Rents have increased massively, and so have house prices. Young families come to me all the time asking what their options are and if affordable housing might be an option for them but it does not exist in our local area. We are in the middle of a housing emergency and that has been the case for a decade or more at this stage. It is a shocking indictment of the Government's housing policy that it has completely failed to deliver any affordable housing for my constituents. We have talked about some schemes being delivered in the coming years but nowhere near the scale at which it is needed. The big question is whether these homes are going to be genuinely affordable for people.”
“This needs to be sorted because it is holding up these projects which are so badly needed. This is having such an impact on the people of Craughwell and Clarinbridge, the local environment and housing. How are we going to solve the housing crisis if we cannot get basic things like this right? I ask the Minister to address this. We need this cofunding requirement to be taken away to ensure that these projects can finally get moving. Not to mention the dozens of other towns and villages across County Galway where there is the same lack of adequate wastewater infrastructure but no funding has been forthcoming, which I have raised here on a number of occasions. This includes the likes of Corofin, Abbeyknockmoy, Ardrahan and Monivea. We are still waiting for the Mountbellew scheme to progress. We need to see funding forthcoming.”
“However, the Government still has not addressed the main barrier to delivering these projects, which is a requirement that Galway County Council provides matched funding of several million euro. If the project goes over budget, the local authority would have to cover the costs. Galway County Council does not have this money. It has not budgeted for it. The investment will not generate any financial return for the council either. It will be handed over to Uisce Éireann once the project is completed. How can the county council be expected to foot this bill for millions? I have raised this matched funding requirement with the Minister, Deputy Chambers, a number of times. I still have not received an answer on it. It seems like penny pinching by the Government.”
“Communities across the State, particularly rural communities, are paying the price for decades of underinvestment in our water and wastewater infrastructure. This leads to issues in terms of public health, the environment and particularly housing. A total of 70% of the land that is zoned for housing in County Galway cannot be built on because of infrastructural deficits, including water and wastewater. We see big announcements in terms of funding but we do not see delivery on the ground. Funding was announced three years ago for the provision of wastewater infrastructure in Clarinbridge and Craughwell in County Galway. Since then, these projects have been at a standstill. The costs have gone up. Before Christmas, we saw Government TDs welcoming an increase of funding for the project.”
“They have been treated shamefully for so long, despite the fact they save the State billions of euro every year. Pursuing them for tax liabilities would be in stark contrast to the treatment of Government Ministers who have been overpaid and have failed to pay back money owed. These family carers play a vital role. The Government's objective should be to support them and not to pursue them for tax liability. We need absolute clarity on this.”
“I also want to speak about healthcare assistants who provide these services. The HSE has not fulfilled previous agreements with staff around working conditions and issues like the lack of a roster system and overtime pay. All of this is leading to stress and burnout. I know the staff in a number of counties have been balloted by their union but the same issues are replicated across the State. I call on the Minister and the HSE to engage with their representatives and get these issues resolved. They are a very important group of workers who deserve to be treated fairly. Finally, I just want to express concern regarding the letters that have been issued to family carers, who do Trojan work as we all know. We need absolute clarity that family carers will not be pursued by the Revenue.”
“The family was told he would not get all the hours he is entitled to and not in the evening time or at weekends. We cannot underestimate the human impact of this situation. Some of the most vulnerable people are being failed. Delivering proper home care would reduce the length of hospital stays and reduce the risk of hospitalisation, which would, in turn, reduce hospital pressure. We have an ageing population. We need to plan and prepare for this and do everything we can to support people to live independently and take the pressure off hospitals and nursing homes. The long-promised statutory home care scheme centred on access and a legal entitlement to home care must finally be progressed to ensure people have that choice, alongside proper resourcing and building up the public system instead of relying on outsourcing.”
“Many are suffering because they are not receiving those supports they are entitled to. This is a critical support to ensuring people can continue to live independently in their homes for as long as that is their wish. Government failure is pushing older people into hospitals and nursing homes and adding to the pressure on those services, when people could and should be cared for in their own homes. I was recently contacted by a woman who had spinal surgery. She is unable to move out of the bed by herself as a result. She is not getting the full allocation of hours she needs. A man who recently had been in hospital for 15 weeks has Parkinson's disease, heart failure and other health issues. He cannot walk. He needs help to be fed. He needs to be hoisted in and out of bed.”
“I welcome the moves in this Bill to regulate private providers and to set minimum standards for services. However, this Bill is far from what it could have been. The current and previous programme for Government promised a statutory home care scheme but after five years, the Government has only got as far as a register of private providers. There is nothing in this Bill about access and affordability of different levels of care. It is a system designed around private provision. The ambition of the Government should be to build a genuinely public health and social care system accessible to all. In County Galway, 362 people are waiting for either a new home care package or additional supports that they have been found to be entitled to. These are often very vulnerable people.”
“They need the Minister to reverse his cruel decision to scrap energy credits. They need him to scrap the carbon tax increases and end the energy rip-off by standing up to the big energy companies.”
“I wonder whether the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, held the same view when he voted to increase the same carbon tax in the latest budget or if a ministerial job changed his mind. Time after time the Government has defended carbon tax increases by saying that the funding is essential for the delivery of climate action programmes. We know from the public accounts committee that this is not true. The fact of the matter is that carbon tax funds are not ring-fenced for such measures but are treated the same as any other general taxation. The Government has little idea at all where the carbon tax people pay is actually spent. It is time for the Government to recognise the reality for households across the State and give them a break. Working people and families are in desperate need of support to pay their energy bills.”
“The reality is that the effects of recent carbon tax increases and the increases planned over the years to come will have the most severe impact on the most vulnerable households. This comes with the support of Regional Independent Group TDs who spent many years speaking out against carbon tax increases yet when a Government job came into sight, they became silent. When he was in opposition, the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Canney said that rural Ireland was not being treated fairly when it comes to the carbon tax. He said that rural Ireland does not have the benefit of public transport and the Government was adding insult to injury by increasing the cost of running a car.”
“As a consequence, we have over 300,000 households in energy arrears as of last October - households who have been left to fend for themselves as costs continue to soar. This is a choice by the Government. It could stand up to these companies, empower the regulator and reform the pricing structures, but it has consistently refused to do so. It has done nothing. When it comes to the carbon tax, the Government has deliberately made the cost of home heating, petrol and diesel more expensive for households. We know the carbon tax is a regressive, deeply unfair tax and has a massive impact on people in rural communities and the west of Ireland, in particular, where in many areas the alternatives simply do not exist. However, the Government is going to continue hiking these taxes until 2030 at least.”
“The safe distribution and operation of fuels such as natural gas and LPG is of significant importance. Tens of thousands of households across the State rely on natural gas and LPG as their main source of heating and it is important that the networks which they use on a daily basis are up to standard and appropriately regulated for safety. I welcome the intention and progression of this technical update but, as my party colleagues have outlined, there are serious flaws in this legislation, and it does come ten years after the initial concerns were discovered. While the distribution of home heating fuels must be safe, it is also important that it is affordable. The Government has failed to protect households from rising costs through its withdrawal of the energy credits and its inability to hold energy companies to account for this rip-off.”
“There will not be a level playing field for Irish farmers, who follow the highest standards in food production, sustainability and traceability. Even at this late stage, the Government must do everything in its power to oppose the Mercosur deal. I call on the Government to support the motion and finally stand up for Irish agriculture.”
“The Government needs to give a full account of the actions it has taken. The amendment and the Minister of State's speech have not set that out, as has been claimed. The motion is an opportunity for the Government to finally take action. The Minister of State said he would voice concerns but he has avoided the key questions, and deliberately so. If it really opposes the Mercosur trade deal, will the Government whip all its MEPs to vote against it? Will it engage with MEPs from across the EU to vote against it? Will it support the legal action being taken to stop the ratification of this trade deal? These are the questions the Minister of State must answer tonight. The motion outlines the practical steps that can be taken at this late stage to stop this disastrous deal.”
“I welcome the farmers who are in the Gallery this evening. Nobody is buying it. For years the Government sat on the fence about whether it would support or oppose the Mercosur trade deal when it came to a vote. Not until the day before a vote was due, when thousands of farmers were organising to take to the streets and when it knew the deal was going to pass anyway, did it finally come out and say it was against this deal. In the time it was dithering, it failed to build a blocking minority with other EU member states and now Irish farmers are left to deal with the consequences of that failure and the likelihood of the deal passing. The deal opens the door further to a substandard product, directly threatens our beef industry and family farms, and puts food safety and security at risk.”
“The proposed Mercosur trade agreement is a bad deal for Irish farmers and consumers. I held a public meeting in Athenry earlier this week and there is serious concern about this deal and the impact it would have on our beef industry and family farms. The Government should be doing everything in its power to stop this deal but it is not. For weeks, the Tánaiste and his colleagues have dodged answering the simple question of whether they will vote against this deal. The Taoiseach is in Brussels today. He was unable to answer what way the Government would vote. It is unacceptable that at such a critical moment for Irish agriculture, the Government is unable to set out its position. I have one simple question for the Tánaiste: will the Government vote yes or no to Mercosur?”
“We have had reports carried out into ambulance bases like Loughglynn, County Roscommon, which examined in detail the situation, level of calls and so on. Specific service improvements were implemented after that. That could be considered for Tuam as well, to take an in-depth look at the situation and what improvements could make a difference. I welcome the Minister of State's comments that this will be examined as part of the process for next year. We will wait and see what comes out of that. I hope it is a positive outcome.”
“I welcome the commitment to consider this as part of the service planning process for 2026. I sincerely hope it is implemented. I also want to express my gratitude to the staff of the NAS but if we want to demonstrate our gratitude, we need to consider the level of pressure these crews are under and do everything we can to alleviate that and ensure a better service and better outcomes for patients, which is what it is all about. I urge the Minister of State and the National Ambulance Service to engage with staff in Tuam around this issue. They know better than anybody what the situation is like on the ground and what could improve it. I raise this issue on their behalf today. Ultimately, this is about better outcomes for people and saving lives. It deserves to be fully considered and I hope it is.”
“This would allow them to support paramedic crews in the various ambulance bases across the region and not just Tuam, because Tuam is at the centre of a very wide region where these vehicles are not operating around the clock. It could provide cover in counties Mayo and Roscommon as well. The National Ambulance Service has informed me that provision of such a vehicle would have to be included in the HSE national service plan for it to be considered. There is a very strong case here on the basis of patients safety, ensuring better outcomes for people and ultimately saving lives. I ask the Minister of State to outline whether this is something that will be considered.”
“This vehicle would be at the base when they are out on calls to provide additional cover around the clock. A rapid response vehicle is not like a typical ambulance. It is a smaller vehicle that can respond more quickly. It would be staffed by an advanced paramedic, which is important and they can offer enhanced care and advanced life support in emergency situations. Having that cover there would ultimately contribute towards saving lives and achieving better outcomes for patients. They could administer various medications to treat different illnesses before a patient arrived at hospital, and time is obviously crucial in a lot of emergency situations. Tuam ambulance base is equipped to cater for a rapid response vehicle. There are advanced paramedics in the area who can operate it.”