We, on this side of the House, extend our sincere sympathies to the family of Annmarie O'Brien and her daughter, Paris, on their tragic deaths in the fire in Clondalkin yesterday. We also extend our condolences to the family of Holly and Jordan, the other two children to die in the horrific fire. We pray that their mother, Biddy O'Brien, will fully recover from her injuries. The Garda and the Dublin Fire Brigade are continuing their investigations and it is in everybody's interests that the cause of the fire be established as soon as possible.

Dublin Fire Brigade provides emergency ambulance services in the Dublin city and county area by arrangement with Dublin City Council and the National Ambulance Service. Dublin Fire Brigade has a proud tradition of providing this fire-based ambulance service in the capital. International best practice indicates that combining fire, rescue and emergency medical services greatly improves the response to a crisis. In the Dublin Fire Brigade, 830 firefighters are trained paramedics in a position to provide immediate emergency medical assistance and the benefits of this integrated service are obvious to everyone. The chief executive of Dublin City Council, Owen Keegan, has stated he wishes to see a transfer of all call taking and dispatching of ambulances to the national control centre in Tallaght. He stated this was the view of the chief executives of the other local authorities, although it is not agreed by the councillors in those local authorities.

The HIQA report raised concerns about the operation of two ambulance services in the Dublin area and called for enhanced integration of service provision. It is clear, therefore, that co-ordination and integration between the Dublin Fire Brigade and the National Ambulance Service is required. Significant investment is also needed in the fire brigade and ambulance capacity in the Dublin area. Investment is needed in ambulances, personnel, vehicles and technology. Last Saturday, rallies took place at all the fire brigade centres throughout Dublin, which demonstrated the support for the retention of the ambulance service by Dublin Fire Brigade. Impact and SIPTU have called off strike action, following the intervention of Kieran Mulvey.

Does the Tánaiste agree that the ambulance service should be retained in Dublin City Council? The expert panel published its report in 2015 and made recommendations for the future of the ambulance service. This provides a mechanism for co-ordination and governance. I hope the relevant Ministers will deal with the issue once and for all. It has been dragging on for too long and we need action.

I join the Deputy in extending my sympathies to the families, the young children, the mum and her friend, who is seriously ill. I was saddened to hear about the tragic fire in Clondalkin and the circumstances surrounding it. My thoughts are with all of those involved, their relatives and friends. I am sure I speak for everyone in the House when I extend our sympathy to all the families. I spent time there this morning meeting the gardaí who are investigating, and further forensic analysis is being done. I met the staff of Sonas, which has been providing services for 25 years to women in vulnerable situations. They are devastated by what has happened. They are offering every support they can to the other families who, thankfully, escaped the fire. I also pay tribute to the emergency services personnel who arrived very quickly at the scene of the fire. We await the results of the forensic and Garda investigations. Today, our thoughts are with the relatives and friends of those who so tragically lost their lives.

The Dublin city manager informed the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government that SIPTU had served notice of potential stoppages on Dublin City Council on 6 May. The Departments have been heavily involved. I do not want this to go ahead. The Department is primarily concerned with ensuring local authorities are meeting their obligations in respect of their statutory fire service and fire safety responsibilities. The provision of health services, including the provision of ambulance services is, of course, the responsibility of the HSE operating under the remit of the Department of Health. A number of Departments are involved. We want to ensure any discussion on Dublin Fire Brigade and the ambulance services focuses on addressing the HIQA report issues. We must respect the excellent and proud tradition of Dublin Fire Brigade. The Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, and the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Coveney, are examining the recommendations. It is critical that there be no reduction in front-line ambulance services and there is no intention that there should be.