Results 1,481-1,500 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Sláintecare Reforms (Resumed) (6 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: That seems to be what is happening.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Sláintecare Reforms (Resumed) (6 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: We were definitely led to believe that planning for elective hospitals would go in by October 2023. Now, the way we are talking, they will not even be in for planning by October 2024.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Sláintecare Reforms (Resumed) (6 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: Does Mr. McCallion not agree that there is now a need to see how we can expedite these projects for delivery? The old system of doing it is not working. It is just not working. We are not dealing with the growth in population, the demand for services, and the changing demography of the population.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Sláintecare Reforms (Resumed) (6 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: Have public private partnerships been considered for any of the projects we are talking about?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Sláintecare Reforms (Resumed) (6 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: I want to go back to the issue of the roll-out of support during the Christmas period. One of the issues that arose last year was that while the HSE had contracted beds, a lot of them were not used during the first two weeks of January because there was no effective mechanism in place for getting patients out of hospital. Will we have the necessary staff available over the coming Christmas...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Sláintecare Reforms (Resumed) (6 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: Are we satisfied that we have a sufficient number of contracted beds in place from 15 December on? Obviously the same number of operations will not be done from 20 or 21 December until the start of January. Some people may be in hospital for longer but there is an urgent need to get people out at the same time. Are we satisfied that the mechanisms are in place to deal with this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Sláintecare Reforms (Resumed) (6 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: I want to move on from the issue of getting people out of hospital and into step-down care facilities to the issue of providing home care when patients no longer need to be in such facilities or in hospital. In the Cork and Kerry region at the moment we have the longest waiting list for home care hours in the country. Why is that the case? What mechanisms are being put in place to make...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Sláintecare Reforms (Resumed) (6 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: It is also about travel expenses. I was speaking to people in the private sector who are providing home care. There are approximately 28 private companies providing home care. Their big problem is that they have additional costs. For instance, they have to rent premises for administration and they have insurance and public liability costs. The HSE does not have the same cost base as the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Sláintecare Reforms (Resumed) (6 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: Does Mr. McCallion agree that we need a lot more people to provide home care because we have an increasing number of people in need of such care? We want to keep them out of hospital and in their own communities. Is there further work that could be done, not necessarily by the HSE but by other support groups if they got the funding? I am just wondering if that can be looked at.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Sláintecare Reforms (Resumed) (6 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: The point being made as recently as yesterday by one of the companies was that they do not get an allowance to pay for mileage, which is a problem. It is not necessarily the same problem in an urban area but in a rural setting it is a big problem. In fairness, a huge amount of effort is being made by families to keep that support and give that time. Therefore, we should also try to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Sláintecare Reforms (Resumed) (6 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: What is the plan for increasing the number of hours available for home care in 2024? Are we talking about increasing it or staying at the same level?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Sláintecare Reforms (Resumed) (6 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: One area that is of concern to a lot of people is areas where there is a large new development occurring and a huge increase in population but there is no co-ordination around putting in health services at the same time. Take my own area. In Glanmire, we do not have facilities for older people to meet up or for any kind of healthcare service to be provided locally. My understanding is that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Sláintecare Reforms (Resumed) (6 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: Going back to the area around Glanmire, there are 25,000 or 35,000 people living there and a lot of people who are retired. I understand-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on Sláintecare Reforms (Resumed) (6 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: -----that elderly people are having to travel by bus to a facility in Cobh in order to get access to facilities. What exactly is going to happen in areas like that? Is it going to be the next two or three years or five or ten years' time before we have anything developed?

Confidence in the Minister for Justice: Motion (5 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: I support the Minister. The work she has done stands out in the sense of the work being done daily by the Garda. In the last 12 months alone, the Garda has seized more than €271 million worth of illegal drugs, 1,575 firearms and 1,780 knives and dangerous instruments. This is the result of the proactive work of gardaí on the ground, including the work being done by community...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (5 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: 70. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if funding is to be provided by her Department for the Small Scale Local Festivals and Summer Schools Scheme for 2024, in view that the scheme supports local cultural festivals and summer schools that are not eligible under funding criteria for larger scale events supported by Fáilte Ireland, the Arts Council and similar...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Artists' Remuneration (5 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: 86. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the level of funding provided to the basic income for the Arts Pilot Research Scheme in 2024 as part of the €1.17 billion in funding allocated to her Department in Budget 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53518/23]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (5 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: 240. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a school (details supplied) which has currently more than 300 pupils and is likely to increase to 350 pupils in the next two years is entitled to have the services of a full-time secretary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53376/23]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (5 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: 248. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when a review being undertaken by her Department in respect of a Stage 2B submission will be finalised (details supplied); and when the school contacted about the outcome of this review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53516/23]

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (5 Dec 2023)

Colm Burke: 280. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if funding is to be provided by her Department for co-operation with the Northern Ireland funding scheme for 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53520/23]