Results 1-20 of 11,553 for speaker:Colm Burke

All-Island Strategic Rail Review: Statements (Resumed) (2 Jul 2025)

Colm Burke: I thank the Deputy and very much welcome this debate. As my colleague, Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, has set out, a major plan, the Cork metropolitan area plan, has been set out and was published on 18 June. Public consultation is currently taking place and it is important that people engage. We are not just planning for the next five or ten years but for the next 50 or 60 years. One of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Planning Framework (1 Jul 2025)

Colm Burke: Regarding forward planning, we need to address the concentration of development in Dublin and the greater Dublin area. We need to focus very much on places like Cork, Limerick and Galway. There is clear evidence that the growth in jobs continues in Cork. Therefore, we must develop the housing in order to accommodate those new jobs. I do not believe we are working hard enough to develop...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: General Practitioner Services (26 Jun 2025)

Colm Burke: In fairness to the Irish College of General Practitioners, it has done a huge amount of work as regards having more GPs trained and putting in place a programme for people who have worked abroad and now want to work in Ireland. It has a two year programme whereas for the normal training, people would have to produce evidence of having worked abroad. One of the things we need to...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Media Sector (26 Jun 2025)

Colm Burke: 156. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment to provide an update on the progress made to date by Coimisiún na Meán on the implementation of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34923/25]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (26 Jun 2025)

Colm Burke: 234. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to confirm that she and her Department will intervene to ensure that more school places will be made available in the Mallow, County Cork region for the forthcoming school year, as schools in the area are fully subscribed such as a school (details supplied) and there are a number of pupils from Mallow without school places for the forthcoming...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Housing Schemes (26 Jun 2025)

Colm Burke: 268. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to confirm that local authorities (details supplied) would not deem an application for the housing adaptation grant as incomplete, where outstanding supporting documentation is required, and return it by post along with supporting documentation to the applicant but instead accept the application, retain the documents and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Childcare Services (26 Jun 2025)

Colm Burke: 275. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of a domiciliary care allowance application for the daughter of a person (details supplied) for who it is documented and has medical difficulties; if serious consideration will be given to granting this allowance due to these difficulties and the level of care required; and if he will make a statement on the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Healthcare Policy (26 Jun 2025)

Colm Burke: 338. To ask the Minister for Health whether women who have undergone surgery and now require support services, including breast protheses, can access those support services with a supplier of their choice, and that the HSE South/Southwest cannot dictate the supplier that they must attend for such services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35097/25]

Ábhair Shaincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Matters: Data Centres (25 Jun 2025)

Colm Burke: I note the Department has progressed this matter. However, I am concerned about the time period with regard to developing this policy further. We are under pressure with increasing demand for electricity. Therefore, we need more facilities in place to generate that electricity, whether it is through solar farms, wind turbines or new forms of generating electricity. We need to fast-track...

Ábhair Shaincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Matters: Data Centres (25 Jun 2025)

Colm Burke: At present there are 82 data centres in Ireland. They use up 6 TWh of electricity, which is 21% of all electricity produced. There are 14 data centres under construction, and a further 40 centres have planning permission. By 2030 there is potential for 100 additional data centres in Ireland. It is now a major challenge. There is concern that the fact they use 21% of the electricity will...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation (Revised)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Revised)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Revised)
Vote 15 - Secret Service (Revised)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Revised)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Revised)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Revised)
Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement (Revised)
Vote 43 - Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister and Minister of State for their presentations and for managing the budget. I want to touch on one issue which is not being dealt with today, namely, the OPW, and the decision-making process. After the OPW has taken a decision on a project it then goes back to the Department of public expenditure. I know of one project, which predates the current Minister's term, where,...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation (Revised)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Revised)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Revised)
Vote 15 - Secret Service (Revised)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Revised)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Revised)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Revised)
Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement (Revised)
Vote 43 - Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Colm Burke: Is the Minister satisfied that there is a mechanism in place to make sure that a decision is made before any environmental impact study goes out of date? For instance, the project to which I refer has been going on since 2013 and nothing has happened yet because the most recent environmental impact study has been approved by the OPW but is now with the Department, awaiting a decision.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation (Revised)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Revised)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Revised)
Vote 15 - Secret Service (Revised)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Revised)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Revised)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Revised)
Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement (Revised)
Vote 43 - Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Colm Burke: I am referring to the Blackpool flood relief scheme.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 11 - Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation (Revised)
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances (Revised)
Vote 14 - State Laboratory (Revised)
Vote 15 - Secret Service (Revised)
Vote 17 - Public Appointments Service (Revised)
Vote 18 - National Shared Services Office (Revised)
Vote 19 - Office of the Ombudsman (Revised)
Vote 39 - Office of Government Procurement (Revised)
Vote 43 - Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Colm Burke: It also concerns other projects to make sure that reports that are produced are not allowed to fall and be out of date by the time decisions are made because there is a huge cost factor to the OPW and the Department of public expenditure.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 38 - Department of Health (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Colm Burke: My apologies for being out of the meeting for a period of time. I was at a meeting in the audiovisual room on advanced genomics, where one of the issues was that we are sending 20,000 samples abroad for analysis in relation to genomics when Irish companies are available to do it. We are also not sending them to any one place. We are sending them to over 100 different places and, therefore,...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 38 - Department of Health (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Colm Burke: I have been a member of this health committee since 2011.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 38 - Department of Health (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Colm Burke: I think I am the longest serving member on the committee. I am raising the same questions today as I did ten or 12 years ago, relating to the computerisation of the health service. We are now behind every other country in Europe. In what I am seeing in the figures for 2025, I am not impressed that we are making any real progress. For instance, I just received a complaint stating that the...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 38 - Department of Health (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Colm Burke: Can I ask Mr. Tierney a simple one? For instance, we have 19 maternity hospitals. Four or five of them have introduced computerised records. That was done approximately five years ago.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 38 - Department of Health (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Colm Burke: But not all of the hospitals will-----

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 38 - Department of Health (Revised) (25 Jun 2025)

Colm Burke: For full digitalisation of all medical records, do we have a five-year plan with targets for each year-----