Renewed calls have been made for a permanent air ambulance base in Clare.
It’s after a GAA player had to be airlifted to hospital from the Loop Head Peninsula last week, as no other ambulance was available.
In the first nine months of 2025 alone, the Helicopter Emergency Medical Services were dispatched to Clare on 51 occasions.
While the current figure for this year has not yet been published, there was one more incident to count on Thursday night.
In this instance, a footballer had to be airlifted from Naomh Eoin GAA Grounds by Rescue 115 as no emergency vehicle was available.
Former Loop Head Councillor Cillian Murphy says the case for a permanent air ambulance base in this county is clear.
There are currently two bases nationwide, while a third has been approved for Sligo.
According to the HSE, however , one-fifth of all air ambulance call outs nationwide originate from the MidWest.
Friends of Ennis Hospital PRO Deirdre Culligan says an air ambulance is urgently required particularly with the busy tourist season.
Calls for an air ambulance base have particularly ramped up since Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill announced the development of a new MidWest hospital in Raheen rather than in Clare.
Speaking in the Dáil she says an effective chairperson has been appointed to a group which will deliver new healthcare services for this county.
Listen to the full interview here
