Ambulance response times in area of Mayo slammed as 'unacceptable'

Patients in north Mayo communities are being left waiting for up to two hours for an ambulance to response to their medical emergencies.

The matter has been highlighted by Senator Mark Duffy who described the waiting times as as ‘unacceptable'.

Speaking in the Oireachtas, he outlined: “I have three call logs of incidents from the past number of months.

"In some instances, the ambulance response times to patients has been two hours. Two hours, two hours and 96 minutes are just three examples.

“I compliment the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, for her work improving the effectiveness of her office and improving the health outcomes and conditions, but where ambulance response times are concerned, the people of Belmullet and Erris waiting two hours is unacceptable.

"The problem is linked to congestion at Mayo University Hospital, which has been beset by high trolley figures throughout 2025.

"On March 24, at least ambulance queued outside the hospital’s emergency department during one particularly busy period.

“We need to ensure that these situations never happen. People in the most vulnerable and needy situation of their lives are sometimes left waiting up to two hours in an area that is often neglected and forgotten about and is sparsely populated and rural. We need to do better for the people of Erris and Belmullet."