Ruth Coppinger demands probe into Ambulance Service

Taoiseach, the ambulance service is absolutely essential. Paramedics are the first on the scene and they do incredible work and I want to make it clear I've seen that in my own personal experience but this week we've seen further reports of a misogynistic and toxic culture in the National Ambulance Service and I want to ask if you're going to investigate this Taoiseach. I've spoken to Cathy, it's not her real name, and she has reported a paramedic who drugged, sexually assaulted, coercively controlled and raped her on multiple occasions. He apparently stole controlled drugs, Midazolam, a strong sedative, and Penthrox, a powerful painkiller, and he used them against her. Despite the NAS being fully aware for over a year of a rape investigation by the National Ambulance Service, of being aware for over a year of a rape investigation into this man, he's recently been promoted into a senior position in the National Ambulance Service. Now for years this predator has sexually harassed without consequence at least five women, suffered misconduct from this man including one he locked in a shed, four women contacted their line managers but the complaints were not progressed. Now Cathy could have been spared the horrific ordeal she's had over a period of time with this person had the complaints procedures, sexual harassment policies worked in the National Ambulance Service and it seems a bit like the church, offenders get moved from base to base after complaints. Paramedics are the first to the scene of emergencies, they can be on their own with very vulnerable people for a long time. A sexual predator with authority and access to drugs is a very dangerous mix. Will you investigate why the HSE has promoted this man and why the procedures are failing? Now the journal Investigates in July 2025 did a survey on this and in the last five years 85 complaints were raised with the Ambulance Service management about bullying and sexual harassment, only 10 made it to disciplinary level. In 2020 there were 20 complaints alone. NASRA, the National Ambulance Service representative association has called for an independent inquiry into the service and into these issues. In a survey in the northeast of NAS staff in May 2025 56 out of 65 women responded. One in two had experienced sexual harassment, comments or unwanted touching by ambulance personnel. One made the comment if you need a hand with the breastfeeding let me know. Others had unwanted physical contact. A woman Hope with 10 years experience was dry humped by a male colleague. No woman should have to put up with this in their workplace Taoiseach, but also this is a danger to the general public. Why is this being allowed and will you have an independent investigation into the Ambulance Service? First of all Deputy I thank you for raising this very serious issue in the house. I don't have the full background to the case here with me. I have read some reports I think they're in the media in respect of this and clearly I don't want to prejudice anything that may be entrained but it is very difficult to comprehend how somebody who has you know these complaints and charges have been made against could be promoted. I don't have the full background to it but it's extremely difficult to comprehend and no woman should have to suffer such harassment such in this case sedation and rape and you are quite correct that there should be an absolute zero tolerance approach with International Ambulance Service to misogyny, to sexual harassment and to the undermining of women in any shape or form in any way in their daily work and I will ask the Minister for Health to first of all apprise me of the background of this case and also if necessary then to initiate a review into this and again as I said I'm whilst not having the specific details or background to this case one would expect that there are norms or that there are protocols within an organisation like the National Ambulance Service when allegations of that severe nature are made that certain actions automatically follow whilst those investigations are being investigated. It would seem to be very very highly unusual now in the public service that someone would actually be promoted whilst such substantive and serious allegations remain to be investigated and given the gravity of what's been alleged and that it's not an individual case is what you've said as well it's not only just one case or others have also suffered it appears from what you've said from this individual and that is in my view promoting some person in that context would in my view represent an outlier in terms of how the public service more generally now deals with situations that arise like this and I will ask the Minister to come back to me and to yourself in respect of this issue. Deputy Captain. Yeah so just to make it clear I do highlight that one case but this is not about one case obviously the statistics that I've given the survey that was done in the northeast plus the journal investigates and this has been going on for over a year Taoiseach it's now time for the Minister for Health to intervene here and on Garda Síochána, the health service, the army they shouldn't be safe havens for perpetrators but unfortunately the policies that are designed to deal with complaints of sexual harassment and violence are failing utterly to do so internal procedures the WRC none of them are really holding perpetrators to account and in fact the complainant often a woman is the person who ends up suffering in their career in their education as we saw in UCD or with their health. I highlighted in the previous debate on the private members issue a guard who has made a complaint of sexual harassment the sergeant's working away and she's out sick. We need intervention here in relation to sexual harassment it should actually be a criminal offence not just you know through the employment appeals tribunal and we need action now. Thank you. Taoiseach. Yeah the I think fundamentally in any organisation it's about culture and it's about the culture of an organisation. In all of the work in terms of the defence forces the one word that kept emerging in terms of all the analysis and the inquiries and so on was culture. There are many policies there's numerous policies in respect of these issues but it's the biggest difficulty and challenge is around culture. Changes are occurring in the defence forces has to be acknowledged given what has happened and also within Angordish Econa. And it's interesting there was a lot of resistance to utilisation of the word culture highlighting the fact that there's a problem with culture from these organisations. A lot of resistance to even articulating that in any documents pertaining even to the military and defence forces at times which I experienced but to me it's the fundamental issue that underpins behaviour like this occurring on a regular basis. So it's something that has to be worked on on a consistent constant basis to change the culture of organisations. Thank you Taoiseach.