Results 8,641-8,660 of 11,301 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: Radiological Protection (Amendment) Bill 2018: Second Stage (15 May 2018)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister and thank him for bringing this legislation forward. In one sense it is a transfer of functions from one Department to another but it is also about tidying up existing legislation and strengthening regulation. That is welcome. The Bill transfers certain functions from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government to the Department of Communications,...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 May 2018)

Colm Burke: I join with my colleagues in saying that our thoughts today are with the people who are getting - or have gotten - the news on the results of CervicalCheck. These results were previously inaccurately reported. It is a challenging time for them, their families and for the wider community as well. It is also a challenging time for people working in the health service. The workload in all of...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Community Employment Schemes Review (9 May 2018)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister for taking time out of her busy schedule to deal with this matter. The issue I raise is the community employment scheme and the current rules that apply. The particular one I raise is where someone has reached 66 years of age and he or she is no longer entitled to continue on in the community employment scheme. There is a problem now in community employment schemes...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Community Employment Schemes Review (9 May 2018)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister. The other scheme I raised is a community organisation that has over 46 acres of community grounds because there are lot of different organisations working there, all on a voluntary basis. The person on community employment supervises the maintenance and does all that work. Now his time is up. He has done his three years and it cannot be extended, as I understand it....

Seanad: Order of Business (9 May 2018)

Colm Burke: One of the issues that we have faced over the past two weeks is a difficult one for many families. I raised it at the health committee this morning and want to do so again now. It relates to pending cases. I agree with my colleague about having the Minister attend to deal with a number of issues around maternity care and CervicalCheck. At the committee meeting, someone asked about the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (9 May 2018)

Colm Burke: My question is on the communications system between the State Claims Agency and everyone in the HSE. It appears that the State Claims Agency may have been aware of the seriousness of this issue but did not communicate it to people working on the front line. In the current structure, a claim comes in against a medical consultant in a hospital and is passed on to the State Claims Agency....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (9 May 2018)

Colm Burke: Mr. O'Sullivan referred to the anomaly scans and the extra people employed in that area. I wish to flag with him that I have been made aware that medical consultants in the smaller units are being advised they will not be given an opportunity to look at the scans before they are sent to the central unit for review. I am talking about the smaller maternity units around the country. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (9 May 2018)

Colm Burke: Mr. O'Sullivan might obtain the average number who have retired over the past three years, for instance. I guarantee him that the number is far higher than 59.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (9 May 2018)

Colm Burke: I will provide the legal advice.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (9 May 2018)

Colm Burke: I raised the anomaly scan issue.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (9 May 2018)

Colm Burke: That is not the issue. The issue is that when the anomaly scan is done, the consultants in the smaller units are being advised that they will not have an opportunity to look at those scans. They will be sent to the main unit on day one. They are concerned that issues which they could deal without sending on with may be missed. That is the concern that they have.

Seanad: Civil Law (Costs in Probate Matters) Bill 2017: Second Stage (8 May 2018)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, to the House. I thank the Senators for bringing forward the Bill. There is always a lot of work involved when anyone introduces a Private Members' Bill. I compliment the Senators on the Bill. I agree with what my colleague, Senator Clifford-Lee, said about delays in probate. Likewise in Cork, if I lodge an application for probate at the...

Seanad: Civil Law (Costs in Probate Matters) Bill 2017: Second Stage (8 May 2018)

Colm Burke: It just goes to show the complications that can arise and what we as solicitors can encounter. In another case a person died who had property in England and a farm in Ireland. Farms are always a very emotional issue. We could not find a will but we eventually found a carbon copy of the will in a handbag in a wardrobe in the person's house in England. If there was no will different parties...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Primary Care Centres Provision (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minster of State to the House. A new primary care centre is being built on the grounds of the old orthopaedic hospital in Cork. I recently visited the site and construction is probably 98% complete. My understanding is that ten GPs practising in the area will move to the centre. I seek clarification on the timeline regarding the opening of the facility. When will it be up...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Primary Care Centres Provision (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister for State for his very detailed reply. I know it will take place on a phased basis but I wonder when the GP practices are expected to start functioning from there? When will they be able to move in? Is there a planned timescale for each section to do so? Will everything be in place by the end of the year? As the Minister of State outlined, it is a huge centre that...

Seanad: Prohibition of Conversion Therapies Bill 2018: Second Stage (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank Senators Warfield and Gavan for proposing and seconding this Bill and for taking the time and effort to draft this Bill. As someone who has brought in Private Members' Bills, I know that much time and effort goes into its drafting and ensuring that it is a Bill that can proceed through the House, and I thank them for their efforts in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Medical Council Specialist Register: Discussion (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: I thank the witnesses for their comprehensive presentations this morning and for the work they have done in preparing them. My understanding is that the number of medical practitioners registered in Ireland is approximately 18,000, of whom approximately 39% are non-Irish graduates. Can the witnesses provide a more accurate figure? For those who have come to Ireland, perhaps even from...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Medical Council Specialist Register: Discussion (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: The specific figure I am looking for is the number of those people who have completed the senior training.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Medical Council Specialist Register: Discussion (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: Many of the 127 not on the specialist register are in the small hospitals such as Cavan, Letterkenny, Portlaoise and Tullamore. Would it be true to say that the risk will always be higher in a small hospital because in a big hospital a doctor might be on a one in six or seven rota, working every day, one night in seven and one weekend in seven, whereas in the small hospitals they are likely...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Medical Council Specialist Register: Discussion (2 May 2018)

Colm Burke: If one chooses to look back I have consistently raised this issue over the past four to five years. If one goes back 15 years ago, there was a different process for recruitment and there was forward planning and then that system was absorbed into the HSE. Now the whole system that existed seems to have disappeared. We are trying to recreate that system and I fully accept that movement is...