Results 6,501-6,520 of 11,279 for speaker:Colm Burke

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Tobacco Control Measures (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: Will the Government consider implementing laws that would restrict the importation of tobacco products into the country exclusively to those with plain packaging that includes both pictorial and text warnings in both the Irish and English languages? A similar system that was introduced in Finland requires health warnings to be provided in words and pictures in both Finnish and Swedish. I am...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Tobacco Control Measures (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: I accept the Minister of State's reply in respect of tobacco products that are sold in Ireland, but my question referred to products being brought into the country. We allow people to bring in 800 cigarettes, compared with a limit of 200 in Finland. There is not the same requirement in respect of products being brought back by people returning from holidays or a business trip that the...

Ceisteanna Eile (Atógáil) - Other Questions (Resumed): Departmental Expenditure (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: 13. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will consider instituting a change in the tendering process which would facilitate further submissions to be made after a closing date, similar to the recent changes in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45570/21]

Ceisteanna Eile (Atógáil) - Other Questions (Resumed): Departmental Expenditure (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: My question is on the tendering process and when a tender is submitted, where there is a variation between tenders one and five and a 16% gap in the amount being tendered. There is no process or provision for further engagement if there is a sudden increase in the cost of delivering a project between the time the tender is submitted and the time it is accepted by a Department. Can the...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statement 2020 and Related Matters: HSE (Resumed) (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: I raised an issue about people who are admitted to a nursing home and for whom a weekly fee is agreed and who then need additional support, for example, 12 months later. Are we looking to vary that scheme in any way?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statement 2020 and Related Matters: HSE (Resumed) (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: What is the timescale for when that is likely to be introduced?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statement 2020 and Related Matters: HSE (Resumed) (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: Is Ms O'Connor talking about towards the end of the year or earlier?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statement 2020 and Related Matters: HSE (Resumed) (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: An issue was raised in the statement. It is about internal control, on page 122, and relates to payroll fraud. I presume that matter is being dealt with by the Garda. What amount is involved? When did this occur?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statement 2020 and Related Matters: HSE (Resumed) (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: More than 2,000 organisations are allocated over €5.4 billion. It is a significant task to have checks and balances on every one of them. I presume all of the organisations have the appropriate procedures in place. When the HSE does an audit, is it satisfied that enough safety precautions are in place to deal with something like this?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statement 2020 and Related Matters: HSE (Resumed) (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: Going back to the service level agreements and the SouthDoc issue, where there is an agreement in place and the agency is not delivering on its side of the agreement, is there a provision for penalties being imposed for such a breach? That does not appear to have occurred with SouthDoc.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statement 2020 and Related Matters: HSE (Resumed) (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: Two centres were closed down.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statement 2020 and Related Matters: HSE (Resumed) (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: I agree with that.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statement 2020 and Related Matters: HSE (Resumed) (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: Access to two major centres was no longer available to people.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statement 2020 and Related Matters: HSE (Resumed) (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: Is it not the case that where a centre is closed down and a hospital is closer than a centre, which may be three or four miles away, people will tend to go into the hospital and, as a result, additional people who should be going to a GP out-of-hours service end up in accident and emergency?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statement 2020 and Related Matters: HSE (Resumed) (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: I accept that. When people are aware that a centre is closed, they will feel there is no point in ringing SouthDoc and will decide to go to the hospital, such as the emergency department in Mercy University Hospital or Cork University Hospital, rather than going all the way out to the Kinsale Road. That is what tended to happen.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statement 2020 and Related Matters: HSE (Resumed) (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: It might be interesting to look at how many people turned up to emergency departments who could have gone to a general practitioner's surgery.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statement 2020 and Related Matters: HSE (Resumed) (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: I thank Mr. Reid and all the people in the HSE for their work over the last 18 months. It has been a very difficult time for everyone. I want to touch on the last issue Mr. Reid dealt with. With regard to the funding for SouthDoc, I note from my notes that in 2019 the funding for SouthDoc was €8.3 million, my figure for 2020 was €12.3 million and for 2021 it is €7.5...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statement 2020 and Related Matters: HSE (Resumed) (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: It sounds like a huge increase, in particular when facilities were closed. Another issue is in regard to facilities that closed. For instance, Blackpool, which is on the north side of Cork city, was closed down. With regard to access to the facilities on the south side, there is no public transport, so a facility was closed down that people on the north side of the city and the rural area...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statement 2020 and Related Matters: HSE (Resumed) (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: I know that.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statement 2020 and Related Matters: HSE (Resumed) (23 Sep 2021)

Colm Burke: Could we have a reason for the substantial increase in funding and how that funding was allocated during that period? Those are the figures I have. I know the witnesses may not be able to give that to me now but they might give it to me subsequently in writing. I want to move on to deal with the issue in regard to the value for money report in regard to nursing homes. We have been...