The Aontú leader says the stress on the ambulance service has been worsening for some time and should never have reached the point of creating a risk to life.
He said: “The ambulance system in this country is under intense strain. It is leading to death and injury. Will you fund this service properly, implement the pay rise and sit down with paramedics to resolve this crisis?”
He highlighted how the service has been under rising pressure in recent years, as revealed in replies to Aontú Parliamentary Questions.
Tóibín urged the Taoiseach and Minister for Health to step in and settle the dispute with the National Ambulance Service, which has been allowed to reach critical levels.
Said Tóibín: “This is now an emergency situation. It needs to be sorted swiftly, ahead of another planned strike next week, and a 72-hour strike the following. If it escalates further, it will be a serious danger to public health.”
The Meath West TD said: “In reply to a PQ in 2023, we found out the service was worsening year on year. For example, the response time for life-threatening cases rose to 28 minutes as a national average.
“That means you could be dying on the side of the road for a half an hour before help would arrive. In some parts of the country, people were waiting hours.”
He mentioned the tragedy of Mayo man Stephen Lavelle, who died earlier this year after his family had to drive him 80km to hospital, after delays waiting for an ambulance.
Said Tóibín: “The crux of it is the job has changed but the pay has not. Ambulance staff need additional training and qualifications for the various different incidents.
“Organisers called on the Minister and the HSE to come to the table and the Health Minister has refused so far, hiding behind the need for “due process” in an industrial relations matter. But the Minister in charge needs to step in, to what is now a stalemate.
“This should have been sorted out a time ago. As anyone paying attention to what was happening knows – this tinderbox situation is a long time coming.”
His comments come as a 24-hour strike is underway today by 2,000 workers at the National Ambulance Service, which began at 8am. It’s the first of three planned strikes this month, which could cause chaos.
SIPTU’s Ambulance Sector Organiser John McCamley said the responsibilities and operational practice guidelines for NAS workers has increased dramatically over the past two decades. He said: “All we are asking is that, like other health professionals, their training and qualifications are respected and recognised in an appropriate pay and grading structure which takes account of the major workplace changes which have taken place over the last 20 years.”
