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InvestigatesNAS ComplaintsLAST UPDATE | 2 Jul
FOR YEARS, THE National Ambulance Service (NAS) has been a lifeline, with its paramedics the first to respond in times of crisis.
But beneath the surface, staff say a toxic culture has festered.
Today, The Journal Investigates can reveal that there has been a sharp rise in complaints alleging inappropriate behaviour and sexual harassment within the service.
Some are so serious, gardaí are currently investigating at least two of those complaints, separately made by women employees.
Figures uncovered by The Journal Investigates show that in the last five years alone, 85 complaints surrounding bullying, inappropriate behaviour and sexual harassment raised with NAS management.
Due to data protection and privacy issues, the HSE did not provide a detailed breakdown of these issues.
Of those, less than 40% were subject to a formal investigation, according to NAS internal data revealed under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
Even less resulted in disciplinary action. Between 2020 and May 2025, 10 complaints reached varying levels of disciplinary hearings, with the outcomes unknown.
A total of 20 complaints were made by NAS staff in 2024 alone, the highest annual number recorded since 2020.
While the figures aren’t broken down by gender, The Journal Investigates was contacted by multiple female paramedics who say they feel there is an “unsafe culture” within the service.
According to leading union representatives, many women in the service are also reluctant to raise complaints.
The National Ambulance Representative Association (NASRA), is calling for an independent investigation. Brendan Flynn, chairman of NASRA, told us:
Without a doubt, these figures are just the tip of the iceberg, many complaints don’t even reach management.
In a statement, the HSE, which oversees the NAS, said that “protecting the safety of employees and service users is a priority concern” and that sanctions, up to and including dismissal, are imposed where wrongdoing is established.
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The Journal Investigates spoke to a number of female NAS staff who have raised serious complaints about the “unsafe culture” within the service.
Hope*, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, has spent nearly a decade working on the front line of the service.
She described a workplace where inappropriate behaviour is often dismissed as “just banter” – even when it crosses a line.
Speaking to our team, she recounted receiving persistent texts from a senior male colleague which made her feel uncomfortable.
She later discovered that several other women working in the service had experienced similar unwanted advances from the same individual.
Hope described being “dry humped” by two different male colleagues, incidents that were brushed off as jokes.
In one particularly disturbing claim, Hope said a video of a woman engaging in sexual activity with a male colleague was circulated amongst staff at her base.
It was falsely claimed that the woman in the video was a female NAS worker.
The incident only came to light, Hope said, during a staff night out when the woman falsely linked to the video overheard male co-workers talking about the footage.
Separately, a hidden camera was found in one of the women’s bathrooms. An incident, she claimed, “was all kept quiet”.
Hope claims management’s response is inadequate. “Most of the time, nothing much happens,” she told The Journal Investigates.
The people accused are rarely suspended or properly disciplined.
We also spoke to another NAS staff member who claimed to be one of seven women in the service subjected to sexual harassment by a male colleague.
After speaking with her colleagues, only two were prepared to put their complaints in writing.
Another woman, who spoke to us anonymously, also claims to have experienced misogynistic and inappropriate behaviour from some male counterparts.
We put the women’s claims to both the NAS, and the Department of Health. A NAS spokesperson confirmed that between 2023 and 2025, it received 41 complaints under its ‘Dignity at Work Policy’.
Of these, 17 were deemed serious enough to warrant formal investigation, with fewer than five specifically relating to sexual harassment, the NAS said.
The Department of Health said it has “not received any information in respect of these concerns”.
“All employees in the National Ambulance Service have the right to work in a safe
environment under the HSE Dignity at Work policy,” the spokesperson added.
“The HSE treats allegations made under the policy very seriously to ensure all staff are treated with dignity and respect in their place of work.”
NASRA told The Journal Investigates that it has long been aware of issues raised by female members of staff in the NAS.
The union has now called for an independent investigation into what it claims has become a “toxic” culture in the ambulance service.
Brendan Flynn said: “We’ve engaged with NAS in relation to a number of serious allegations in relation to these matters over the years.
“We call for an independent investigation into how cases are investigated, and for the setting up of an independent reporting system that staff can have confidence in. We’d also like to know the status of the investigation with regard to the 85 cases that they have disclosed, and the conclusions to any of those investigations.”
Flynn pointed to the English ambulance service, where investigations uncovered significant levels of harassment by staff of both female and male members.
“There’s no reason to believe that the Irish ambulance service would be any different,” he said.
Flynn believes the NAS, which until 10 years ago was a predominately male dominated service, needs reform.
“We’ve seen a significant influx of young, particularly female, staff, to such an extent that they now make up about 35% of the workforce,” he said.
According to the most recent data published by the HSE, men make up two-thirds of the overall NAS workforce.
The gender split is even higher in frontline ambulance operations, where 70% of staff are male.
“We still don’t have that many women in senior positions,” Flynn said, “or a reporting system that more women could feel they would have confidence in reporting incidents to.”
The union is “happy to see a light shone on this particular area”. He added:
“There is a fear and a reluctance to report these matters, for fear that it may affect their career and that these issues will not be taken seriously.”
This, Hope said, was one of the biggest concerns amongst female NAS staff.
There’s a real fear of not being believed, being labelled a troublemaker or it coming back to bite you in your career.
Hope did report a colleague, but instead of feeling heard, she said she was left feeling alone.
“It was isolating, intimidating and made me feel like the villain for simply trying to do the right thing,” she said.
She is now considering legal action with the support of her union. In the meantime, she is continuing to get on with the job she loves and hopes there will be change. She told us:
“There are certain colleagues I just wouldn’t be alone with for a 12-plus hour shift.
“It’s left me wary, always a bit on edge, and that’s not how anyone should have to feel at work.”
*Name has been changed
Reporter: Patricia Devlin • Editor: Maria Delaney • Social Media: Cliodhna Travers • Main Image Design: Lorcan O’Reilly
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