Madam, – As someone who has survived a stroke since my mid-30s, I recently attempted to phone the gardaí when a car was being stolen from outside my home.
In my agitation I was somewhat unclear and was told to “get someone who could speak English” on the line.
The episode reinforced my belief that there should be a text service for accessing emergency services. It would be enormously valuable for people like myself, but also for the visually- and hearing-impaired. In this day and age I believe it is not too much to expect that we have an emergency response text service.
Texting is also the universal language of children, and I am sure it would make them more inclined to seek help in a crisis. I contacted the Garda press office on the subject and was told that they are currently “looking into it”, which hardly constitutes an “emergency response”.
I did some further research, and discovered that the Revenue Commissioners are in the process of introducing a text service for contacting them. This says a lot about the Ireland of today: A stroke victim may have difficulty contacting the fire brigade if his house is burning down, but at least the State will have the consolation of knowing that he will have paid his taxes! – Yours, etc,