On two occasions this year, it took an ambulance more than 60 minutes to arrive at a life-threatening emergency, according to Ambulance Service data.

The HSE has refused to comment on why a heart and double lung transplant patient had to rely on a stranger’s offer of the use of a private aircraft to attend a vital medical assessment in the UK.

It was a day she thought would never happen. But thanks to the generosity of the Irish public, her Christmas miracle has come true.

The audio recording of a frantic 999 call will play a key role in establishing why an available ambulance was not sent to help a critically injured toddler who had fallen from an upstairs window.