Results 10,721-10,740 of 11,348 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: We are confining ourselves to section 3 at this stage. If Senator MacSharry wants to comment on section 7, he can come back on it.

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House.

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: We are dealing with section 3 and there is no amendment in that section.

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: The Senator should speak to section 3.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: State Dental Schemes: Discussion (28 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: I was at my dentist at 8 a.m. this morning.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: State Dental Schemes: Discussion (28 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: I thank Mr. Hourihan for his very comprehensive presentation. I want to touch on one or two points. Was there a dental officer in the Department of Health previously? How long is it since that individual has gone? With regard to being financially innovative given the current budgetary constraints, a colleague of Mr. Hourihan’s was in contact with me recently to outline the system...

Seanad: Courts Bill 2013: Second Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: The Minister is very welcome to the House. I also welcome this Bill, concerning which I will touch on a few points, one relating to family law and the in camera rule. My concern is that this needs to be handled very carefully and the reason I say this comes from my own experience. As a legal practitioner, unfortunately I had to deal with two suicides, one coming 24 hours before an...

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Second Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: Put it up for judicial review.

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Second Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: There are thousands of extra medical cards. Is that in the programme for Government?

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Second Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: The Senator interrupted me.

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Second Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: If the Senator gives me a little space, I will deal with that issue.

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Second Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: Last year alone, we gave it an additional 165,000 medical cards and GP visit cards.

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Second Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: Senator Cullinane is correct that the increase in the number of medical cards is a reflection of the decline in people's incomes. In the past two years, the Government has acted in a caring manner by ensuring people have an entitlement to access the services they require. Some tweaking and tidying up is needed in health care and the Bill proposes only a small change. The figures for 2012...

Seanad: Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) Bill 2013: Second Stage (27 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I also welcome the announcement by the Minister for Health that the proposal to destroy the Guthrie heel prick test cards is being scrapped. It is important we realise where we are coming from when looking at the current criteria. A single person is entitled to a medical card while earning up to a maximum of ¤700 per week or ¤36,400 per annum,...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: I, too, join the tributes to Jimmy Walsh in respect of the contribution he has made during the past 40 years. In any democratic system, it is important to have a very good and fair media. Jimmy has made a major contribution to the democratic process in the way in which he has reported on matters in this House and in the Oireachtas generally for many years. I wish him every happiness in his...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: I am sure the position is likewise in Senator Cullinane's constituency in Waterford. If Senator Norris wants to spend the weekend with me in the constituency of Cork North-Central, he is very welcome to do so. I do not want anyone to obtain the impression that Senators are disconnected from the public in any way. Some 80% of the people who visit my constituency office wish to raise issues...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: It is a fact that 165,000 additional medical cards were issued in the past year. This is clear evidence that the Government is not disconnected from what is happening among the general public. The insurance industry is complaining that the 5% increase in claims might incur higher insurance prices. This is an outrageous statement, given the fact that the overall level of costs, particularly...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Medicinal Products Prices (26 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State. I am a little concerned by the reply because of my own experience of dealing with the Medical Council. An Irish graduate who worked in an Irish hospital went to New Zealand for two years and when that person returned to Ireland and applied for registration, it took two months to get registered with the council. Even if applications are completed by 2 April, I...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Non-Consultant Hospital Doctors Recruitment (26 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State. I am a little concerned by the reply because of my own experience of dealing with the Medical Council. An Irish graduate who worked in an Irish hospital went to New Zealand for two years and when that person returned to Ireland and applied for registration, it took two months to get registered with the council. Even if applications are completed by 2 April, I...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Non-Consultant Hospital Doctors Recruitment (26 Mar 2013)

Colm Burke: In 2011, more than 200 doctors were recruited in India and Pakistan and brought into Ireland. We rushed through legislation to create a new supervised division and the doctors were given two year contracts. Some of those contracts will expire in July and others in December, because some doctors did not begin working until January 2012. We may, therefore, have a shortage of junior doctors...