The programme for Government in chapter five, page 59, commits the Government to the expansion of the air ambulance service, including providing a night service. What is the situation in that regard and are we providing a 24 hour service when the need arises for an air ambulance for children who might need to be airlifted from Baldonnel to Great Ormond Street Hospital or to Belfast?

I answered questions on that issue earlier on in the context of the retirement of personnel at Baldonnel and a shortage of pilots to fly both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. The emergency helicopter based in Custume Barracks is available on a 24-hour basis. The Minister of State at the Department of Defence, Deputy Paul Kehoe, and the Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, are working to rectify the problem so that when calls are made they can be answered within the timescale by whatever means so that patients, children or adults can be brought to the hospital where they can receive treatment.