The Irish Heart Foundation has welcomed unanimous Seanad support for a new Private Members Bill that will require premises with high public footfall to install and maintain automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for public use and to provide training to people on the premises.

The Foundation says the the new Public Health (Availability of Defibrillators) Bill 2013, sponsored by Independent Senator Fergal Quinn, will help save more lives from sudden cardiac death (SCD)

It says about 5,000 people die from sudden cardiac death in Ireland annually and of these deaths, seven out of 10 happen outside of hospital and often in the presence of a bystander.

According to Chris Macey, Head of Advocacy with the Irish Heart Foundation, legislating to provide more AEDs is a vital prerequisite to increasing the life-saving role of bystander CPR.

However, this could only be maximised with proper regulation to ensure adequate ongoing training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and how to use an AED is provided as well.

"We know from our work in communities all around Ireland that training is crucial. Where training is inadequate or non-existent AEDs will not be used and therefore can play no life-saving role. By widening the availability of AEDs in tandem with certified training, we strongly believe that this will result in considerably more lives being saved," Mr Macey said.

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