'It will have a huge impact on ambulance waiting times,' Tipperary TD slams benefit in kind review
Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath said he is concerned that the review will have a negative impact on ambulance waiting times around the country
Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath has called on the Government to intervene to ensure that a benefit in kind tax is not imposed on advanced paramedics and to allow them to keep the Emergency Response Vehicles that they use.
The TD put through a question regarding this matter for the Minister for Health, during a sitting of the Dáil which took place today.
He asked the Minister to make a statement on what he called a strange situation that will have a large impact on response times for ambulances.
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In response to the TD's question, Minster for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill responded with the below statement.
"We have been informed over the last few weeks that a benefit in kind liability was identified by the HSE for staff using the National Ambulance Service (NAS) vehicles when travelling from home to work.
"A review is underway which should be concluded in April, the NAS took the step to warn staff members of a potential benefit in kind liability."
"The HSE must comply with revenue regulations and it's important to clarify that response vehicles in this context are not patient carrying vehicles."
Mattie McGrath TD responded by saying that if ambulance workers were to pass a scene of an accident to then pick up their emergency response vehicle, it would take a few minutes longer which is vital time to help a patient in need.
He mentioned the problem of staff burnout and how this ruling could aggravate this issue.
McGrath also paid tribute to the wonderful work of the paramedics and the community first responder groups who often work with and support these advanced paramedics.