‘Ambulance service behaving like a republic’

A junior minister has claimed the HSE was using industrial relations as a “a bit of a smokescreen” to defer dealing with concerns over its plans to restructure the ambulance service in East Cork.

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation Seán Sherlock also accused the national ambulance service of “behaving like a little republic” over the issue.

The Labour TD, who serves the Cork East constituency, made the comments at a public meeting in Youghal where over 200 people rejected HSE proposals to downgrade the local ambulance service.