Permanent ambulance sought for Dunfanaghy - Donegal Daily

A Donegal county councillor is calling for at least one ambulance to be permanently based in Dunfanaghy amid concerns over emergency response times in north-wes...

A Donegal county councillor is calling for at least one ambulance to be permanently based in Dunfanaghy amid concerns over emergency response times in north-west Donegal.

Independent Councillor Michael McClafferty has written to Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien seeking action on ambulance provision in the local area.

Mr McClafferty said growing populations across north-west Donegal had strengthened the case for a permanent ambulance presence in Dunfanaghy.

“If the emergency call comes, ambulances need to be rolling at once,” he said.

He also raised concerns about the potential impact of traffic congestion on emergency vehicles travelling through Letterkenny.

"All too often, we hear and see ambulances in Letterkenny traffic either coming or going to casualty."

Cllr McClafferty pointed to the facilities already available at Dunfanaghy Health Centre, describing it as a state-of-the-art building with an ambulance bay to the rear and dedicated living accommodation for staff.

He has called for “at least one, if not two” ambulances to be based in Dunfanaghy, stressing the importance of getting medical assistance to patients during the “golden hour” and the “precious moments when your life hangs in the balance.”

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Figures obtained by Donegal Daily showed that half of life-threatening ambulance calls in Donegal miss the response target.

Between January and May 2026, 52% of red-category, life-threatening ambulance calls in Donegal were reached within the 19-minute target, with an average response time of 23 minutes and 44 seconds.

The National Ambulance Service confirmed that Dunfanaghy does not have a permanent ambulance station.

A spokesperson said that the new Health Centre, which opened in 2025 , contains an ambulance deployment point. This can be used to temporarily position an ambulance from another station when operational demand allows.

NAS said it operates a system of dynamic deployment, meaning ambulances can be dispatched to emergencies regardless of where they are normally based.

There are currently eight permanent ambulance stations in Donegal at Carndonagh, Buncrana, Letterkenny, Dungloe, Stranorlar, Killybegs, Donegal Town and Ballyshannon.

The service said increasing demand means ambulances are frequently sent directly from one emergency call to another rather than returning to their station of origin.

NAS said that, under those operational pressures, the temporary redeployment of ambulances to locations such as Dunfanaghy “seldom occurs”.

Cllr McClafferty is now seeking ministerial intervention for a permanent ambulance presence to be considered for the Dunfanaghy area.