HSE spent €22m on ambulances prone to fires

THE HSE spent over €22 million at the height of the economic boom on a fleet of Mercedes ambulances, a number of which inexplicably caught fire.

Figures obtained by the Irish Examiner show that between 2006 and 2008, the health authority spent the massive sum on 167 specialist Mercedes Sprinter model ambulances for use across the country.

The vehicles, which were all built in 2006 by the Mercedes Benz firm and amount to just over a third of the 480 ambulances in Ireland, were considered to be a vital step towards upgrading existing emergency call-out services.