IMPACT has welcomed Dublin City Council’s announcement that it won’t press ahead with a review of the city’s ambulance service, pending the outcome of a HSE review of the national service.

The news came as several hundred firefighters marched on Dublin City Hall on 7^th April, along with supporters from their families, trade unions and the public. IMPACT's national secretary for the union's municipal and local government divisions, Peter Nolan, said the demonstration was an opportunity for firefighters to express their proud history of service to the city of Dublin.

"The council’s decision to suspend this review is welcome, but we can be in no doubt that this does not mark the end of the campaign to protect the ambulance service,” he said. He said that the support offered by people in the city centre during the protest was hugely encouraging.

The Dublin ambulance service spends about 7% of the national service budget, yet responds to between 35% and 40% of national ambulance calls.