Ambulance staff will have full paramedic status in emergencies from early next year, Minister of State for Health and Children Brian Lenihan has said.
This will allow ambulance staff to administer cardiac medication from among a series of over 20 drugs they will be approved to administer.
Currently, emergency medical technicians are limited to using four drugs to treat pain, chest pain and low blood sugar levels.
The first group of 16 advanced paramedics graduated last month and will be responsible for training their colleagues across the State in the coming weeks. The initiative is "one of the most significant developments in the ambulance sector for many years", Mr Lenihan told the Association of Ambulance Personnel conference in Galway.
The development is expected to increase pressure to provide similar training for air/sea rescue helicopter personnel, some of whom have already completed courses in the US at their own expense, but who have been constrained from applying the expertise under current regulations.
Mr Lenihan said changes in the health board structure had eliminated borders between ambulance services, which also allowed for new changes to the management system to be introduced.
