The operational uniform consists of green cargo trousers with a white open-neck shirt bearing the ambulance service crest as well as high-visibility outerwear for night time and poor visibility conditions.

They are fitted with emergency lighting, digital Tetra radios, touchscreen data terminals, satellite navigation and tracking systems.

There is also a second campus based in Ballinasloe, County Galway, which trains paramedics and Intermediate Care Operatives.

All colleges are operated by the National Ambulance Service and most of its courses are approved by the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC).

In 2013, a draft proposal by the HSE addressed concerns with the system of ambulance provision in the Dublin area.

The concerns were related to the lack of integration between the two services from a command and control perspective and the fact that Dublin City Council does not fall under the remit of the healthcare watchdog Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).

In 2023, a joint report by Dublin City Council and the Health Service Executive that was completed in 2016 and withheld from the public domain was released after the broadsheet newspaper The Irish Times sought its publication through a freedom of information request.

The matter was subsequently raised in parliament during a meeting of the public accounts committee and led to the formation of a “task and finish” group to formulate a solution.

In 2019, the Irish Community Air Ambulance was launched based in Rathcoole, North Cork designated callsign Helimed 92.

This specially designed vehicle is equipped and crewed for the purpose of providing an inter-facility transfer service and responding to low acuity 999 calls, which in turn will make more frontline vehicles, crewed by higher skilled paramedics and advanced paramedics, available for emergencies.

The NAS is also responsible for providing decontamination services in the event of a chemical, biological or nuclear incident.

A special-purpose Incident Response Team (IRT) is available to deploy and operate the decontamination service.

This service is provided in conjunction with the Irish Coast Guard and Dublin Fire Brigade.