I want to follow on from Senator Kelleher's comments about the National Ambulance Service. His figures are absolutely correct. I am not going to go through them again. What is really stark is that I met with 80 newly qualified paramedics outside Leinster House yesterday who had to come and protest. They had a petition with them that has been signed by 10,000 people. They do not know if they are going to have jobs in the service they trained to work in. They are fully trained paramedics who have completed three years with the National Ambulance Service. They have met with every requirement that has been asked of them. They have studied, trained, worked on ambulances, responded to emergencies and supported patients and families across the country. They are fully qualified paramedics who are already doing the job.

Like those in every graduating class before them, they joined on the clear understanding that when they completed their studies, they would transition to permanent contracts. That is not the way it is happening, however, at a time when the National Ambulance Service is absolutely in crisis. Senator Kelleher talked about the purple calls. There are so many problems in our country. So many deaths could be prevented. We have to call it as it is. These are front-line workers who are putting everything on the line to save lives. When we hear sirens in our communities, we know the danger that lies ahead. These front-line workers are not getting the respect that they deserve. Just days before their three-year contracts were due to expire, they were informed that they now have to apply to compete for permanent posts, despite assurances as recently as December that permanent contracts were on the way. How is this happening? I call for an urgent debate in the House in order that we can discover what is going on with the National Ambulance Service and how we find ourselves in a situation whereby 80 newly qualified paramedics have to protest at the gates of these Houses because we do not have jobs for them. This is beyond shameful.