The opposition have attacked the government following reports that a patient had to wait over three hours for an ambulance last night.

Relatives of the patient, who was in the Knocklyon area of Dublin, first called for an ambulance at around 5:15pm.

They then had to make at least four subsequent calls, before an ambulance was finally dispatched at around 8:40pm.

Fianna Fáil spokesperson on health, Billy Kelleher, said the incident points to a clear and present risk to patient safety - and calls into question the adequacy of the ambulance service.

Deputy Kelleher said he is "genuinely concerned by media reports detailing a litany of explanations as to why a patient had to wait three and a half hours for an ambulance while they were assessed by phone. This is utterly unacceptable in any circumstance."

"The shortage of ambulances and the unnecessarily long turnaround times at certain hospitals is causing serious problems for the ambulance service. These are not issues that Minister Varadkar can simply brush aside," he added.

While Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams says it is obscene that a patient would have to wait that long.