The Heath Minister is being called on to intervene in Clare's rural ambulance crisis after a baby was delivered within ten minutes of paramedics arriving at the scene in Scarriff.
The call-out was fifty kilometres from the maternity hospital in Limerick, and it's claimed that medical assistance would not have been available to the mother of the newborn if the call was made one day later.
Reports say that paramedics at the Scarriff ambulance base were alerted to a young mother who was in the late stages of labour on Monday evening around 5.10pm.
Arriving at the scene, it was established that there wasn't enough time to transport the woman to University Maternity Hosptial Limerick, fifty kilometres away from her home.
Within ten minutes, medical personnel delivered a baby safely.
The following night, the Scarriff ambulance crew were called to Nenagh in South Tipperary, leaving East Clare without cover.
Kilrush Councillor Ian Lynch is quoted as saying "it was pure luck" that an ambulance was available on Monday night.
He is calling on the Minister for Health Leo Varadkar to intervene in what he's calling an ongoing crisis facing rural areas in Clare.
