A HSE report has found the National Ambulance Service needs 750 extra staff to respond to emergencies in specified times.

The paper claims an extra 250 ambulances are also required to try to meet official response targets.

However, it says Ireland is “too rural” to match the performance of ambulance services in countries like England.

The report was commissioned after a number of controversies over response times in rural areas and claims that it is under resourced.