I raise the important issue of ambulance response times in the east Cork area. Recently, we have received information that service provision in east Cork is under-serviced. This is causing enormous stress and is a health hazard to people who live in my constituency, particularly in the east and north Cork regions. Thankfully, the Minister for Health is already aware of the issue and has given some commitment that in the near future, we may see improvements. Will the Taoiseach reiterate to the Minister and the Department my concern to ensure that we do something to improve these services for the east Cork region? Of course, traffic congestion and other issues impact the response times but people on the ground are concerned about this. They need to see better provision and we also need to see the development of a new ambulance base, alongside the new ambulance training college in Youghal, to improve the service once and for all.

I thank the Deputy for advocating on behalf of the people of east Cork. I am conscious of the progress made in terms of the training base in terms of Youghal. I will speak to the Minister about this issue. It is an issue that gets raised periodically in terms of ambulance response times and the model that is used. I will certainly reinforce the Deputy's concerns to the Minister and talk to her about them.