Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has said that that there will be a review and a report into the death of Dualtagh Donnelly, who died after waiting for almost 40 minutes for an ambulance to come to his home in Dundalk, Co Louth.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Six One News, the minister said it is not always possible, certainly in remote areas, to get an ambulance to a call on time.

However, he did acknowledge that not all ambulances were on duty that night and he said the ambulance service is understaffed.

He extended his condolences to the family of Mr Donnelly, saying that everything was done that could be done in this case.

Earlier today Mr Donnelly's partner said there may have been a different outcome if the ambulance arrived sooner.

Lindzie Cooney said she made the 999 call after Dualtagh Donnelly severed an artery in his arm on a glass door at his home, but that the father-of-two died in their kitchen.

Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Sean O'Rourke, Ms Cooney, who is pregnant with her third child, said Mr Donnelly got up to go to the toilet during the night and "threw his arm out and it went through the panel of the bathroom door".

She said his forearm was completely open and "it wouldn't stop bleeding".

She said that she called for an ambulance at around 3.06am and her neighbour came to help her.

Ms Cooney said when she made the emergency call she was talked through how to check Mr Donnelly’s breathing.

She said when a medic arrived 24 minutes later, Mr Donnelly was still breathing and the medic wrapped his arm, while waiting for the ambulance.

She said the ambulance arrived 15 minutes after that.

"I thought we were going to the hospital, but the woman told me that no, I wouldn't be going. They just stayed in the kitchen working on him and I was outside. I wasn't allowed in there."

Ms Cooney described the experience as frightening and was told that Mr Donnelly had died "not long after they came".

Ms Cooney said: "He was never taken out of the house. He died in my kitchen.

"I don't know where that ambulance came from. It just seemed forever for them to get there. If that hospital was open, you just don't know. If there was an ambulance sitting up there waiting, they would have been down within minutes."

In a statement, the HSE said the call was received at 3.06am.

It continued: "At the time the call was received a number of NAS emergency resources were dealing with other emergency calls and the nearest available emergency resources, a rapid response vehicle with an advanced paramedic on board and an emergency ambulance were dispatched to the incident and arrived at the scene at 03:29 and 03:45hrs".

Meanwhile, ambulance services have said they are under resourced and over stretched.

Michael Dixon, National Secretary with the National Ambulance Service Representative Assocaiation said: "We have non-rostered crews that are travelling hundreds of kilometers across the country to fulfill roles within the ambulance service.

"We have staff that are doing eight, 10 and 12 hour shifts which can overrun by three to four, to five hours on each occasion."

The matter was raised during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil this morning.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin said there were short notice absences on the night Mr Donnelly died, which he understood was exceptional.

Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty said it was not an isolated case.