The Fianna Fail Group on Dublin City Council today supported the public protest and march to City Hall by members of the Dublin Fire Brigade Ambulance Service to highlight growing concerns over any proposal from the HSE to take over the running of the city’s emergency ambulance service.

Addressing the protest outside City Hall, the leader of the Group, Cllr Mary Fitzpatrick, called for the retention of the vital emergency response service provided by Dublin Fire Brigade and said any move to transfer control should be rejected outright.

Cllr Fitzpatrick said: “It is acknowledged that Dublin Fire Brigade has been providing a consistently high quality ambulance and para medic emergency response service across the city and county.

The reality is that the HSE has been consistently underfunding ambulance services in Dublin for years. Dublin Fire Brigade receives only 7% of the HSE national funding for emergency ambulance services despite the fact that Dublin Fire Brigade answers 35% of all emergency calls countrywide. The current situation has created uncertainty. There must now be a commitment to retaining and fully funding an integrated fire-based emergency response service by Dublin Fire Brigade.”