Press Release
New Community First Responder vehicles for Irish Red Cross branches are a great boost for disaster preparedness
Dec 12, 2024
Share
Irish Red Cross volunteers will today collect five new ambulances, a rescue boat and a 4×4 crew cab and a patient transport vehicle to fuel the vital community services they provide in counties Galway, Limerick, Tipperary and Cork.
- The five ambulances will be warmly welcomed by the Irish Red Cross branches in Cashel, East Limerick, Bantry, Dunmanway/Inchigeela and South Limerick. The new ambulances will provide a more comfortable experience for the patient and require less manual lifting for the volunteer crew. Irish Red Cross ambulances are used to provide community support and first aid response at events throughout the country. The volunteers at these five branches provided first aid support at more than 280 events in 2023. This included festivals, water sports, athletics, equestrian, motorsport, cycling and shows.
- In west Cork: the branches of Bantry (47) and Dunmanway/Inchigeela (43) provided ambulance cover at almost 90 events in 2023.
- In Tipperary, the Cashel branch supported at 115 events.
- In Limerick, the East (41) and South (38) branches supported at almost 80 events. A highly anticipated patient transport vehicle will be brought home to the Irish Red Cross branch in Galway city, where volunteers provide a transport service up to three times a week to bring people, who are isolated or vulnerable, to essential health appointments throughout the county and further afield. Having this new vehicle means they can expand the service to include wheelchair users. In 2023, the Galway branch supported people with transport to essential health appointments including hospital appointments and return from nursing home care.
- The new rescue boat and 4×4 crew cab vehicle are valuable additions to support the emergency search and rescue service provided by Irish Red Cross volunteers of the Clonbur branch on Lough Mask, Lough Corrib and surrounding areas The crew of 22 volunteers are on call 365 days a year and give many hours for rescues, searches and medical duties in the surrounding area. Over the last 10 years, the volunteers have rescued more than 50 people, provided recovery services and have made numerous positive interventions on both lakes. The new boat will allow the crew to access very shallow water with ease. It also provides easy access to casualties in water allowing for the fast, safe recovery of people in difficulty.
We are delighted to see Irish Red Cross volunteers empowered to act locally and support better outcomes for communities.
Funding for the community first responder vehicles was awarded through the CLÁR programme, on behalf of the Department of Rural and Community Development. The six Irish Red Cross branches were awarded a total of €400,000 to help with the purchase of vehicles in response to identified local need. The CLAR programme is focused on helping our rural communities to thrive.
Secretary General Deirdre Garvey said: “The Irish Red Cross branches and volunteers provide an invaluable service to their communities – helping people in times of crisis and enabling our communities to attend events safely. We know that first aid when given quickly and effectively results in a better outcome for the person. That’s why it’s fundamental that we equip our volunteer teams with the quality equipment they need to respond in an emergency and support pre-hospital care. This investment in community first responder vehicles is a great boost for disaster preparedness, emergency response and the health of our rural communities. We are delighted to see Irish Red Cross volunteers empowered to act locally and support better outcomes for communities.”
Media Enquiries
Contact us for all media enquiries, interviews, comments and information.