I again raise the ambulance service in the mid-west region, a matter I have had to raise on several occasions in the past 12 months. Unfortunately, crews in our area are constantly being deployed to other HSE areas. Deputies elsewhere say the same is happening in their HSE areas. It is evident there are not enough crews on the ground. The HSE is measuring performance on the response time of the crews. I ask the Minister to ask his Cabinet colleague, the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, to get a measurement of the time it takes for paramedics to get to the patient, which is the accurate reflection of the performance and the service that is being given by the ambulance service in rural areas. At the moment, through no fault of the paramedics, the time taken to get to the patient is excessive.

This is not the first time this issue has been raised and the Deputy is right to raise it. I will, of course, ask my colleague, the Minister for Health, to come back directly to him on the matter.