Results 2,801-2,820 of 11,598 for speaker:Colm Burke

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Hospital Services: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2018)

Colm Burke: I thank the witnesses for their presentations and for their work. In the past three years, since January 2015, we have taken on more than 11,000 additional staff in the HSE. I understand that the numbers have gone from 99,000 to more than 110,000. However, that increase in staffing levels does not seem to have delivered any additional capacity. What are the witnesses' views? Was there a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Hospital Services: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2018)

Colm Burke: I have to go the Seanad because there is a health matter I have to speak on. I will be absent from the meeting for about 20 minutes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Hospital Services: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2018)

Colm Burke: My apologies for not being here when they gave the replies. Unfortunately, I was in the Seanad dealing with a health issue. On the 11,000 additional staff in the HSE, if there are to be improved levels of employment where we are already talking about over 450 consultants who are not in place and nurses not being in place, within the HSE we still do not appear to be prioritising the...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jul 2018)

Colm Burke: I raise an issue following on from the passing by this House of all Stages of the Civil Law (Missing Persons) Bill 2016. The Bill will now go to the Dáil for debate. As a result of the Seanad debate, I have been contacted by a number of people who raised circumstances in which a body is found in Ireland but the remains are not identified. It appears that there is no centralised...

Seanad: Children's Health Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Sep 2018)

Colm Burke: Freedom must be given to a board. There may be circumstances where a development is required and it is essential that it is separated out from the hospital unit. It must be remembered that it cannot be done without the Minister's consent. It is not an unusual situation in the case of a large organisation providing a service such as this as there sometimes needs to be a separation of...

Seanad: Children's Health Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Sep 2018)

Colm Burke: I am a bit surprised at the suggestion that we should not want a philanthropist to come along with an offer to provide funding. Universities are dependent on philanthropy and there have been many good developments in universities as a result of philanthropy. This is about paediatric care, and research and development. In medicine there are always situations where the State is not in a...

Seanad: Children's Health Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Sep 2018)

Colm Burke: In fairness, transparency is already provided for in the Bill because the Minister is accountable to the Houses. There is also full transparency in regard to appointments to all boards. On the issue of a person being required to have expertise in a particular area, I served on a State board for ten years. I was appointed to that board by Cork City Council on the basis of my legal...

Seanad: Children's Health Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Sep 2018)

Colm Burke: I am not fuzzying up anything.

Seanad: Children's Health Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Sep 2018)

Colm Burke: While my colleague has withdrawn the amendment, I do agree with her that members of councils have qualifications. I served on Cork City Council and on the board of the Port of Cork having been appointed by the council. Rules have come in over recent years that now bar a councillor from sitting on any State board. I am not clear that is correct because in fairness to councillors they have...

Seanad: Children's Health Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Sep 2018)

Colm Burke: There is full accountability. In fairness, any board has to assure that all expenses are accounted for. As that includes remuneration to the CEO and board members, the system is already in place.

Seanad: Children's Health Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Sep 2018)

Colm Burke: I am not clear what board Senator Devine is referring to when she says the system has failed. That was where people were working in the particular organisations where it failed. It was not the board of directors where it failed.

Seanad: Children's Health Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Sep 2018)

Colm Burke: No, it was not oversight. The issue that Senator Devine is raising is about board directors. The lack of accountability she referred to was by those employed within the particular organisations as opposed to-----

Seanad: Children's Health Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Sep 2018)

Colm Burke: I accept that but the Minister has given clarification on the matter and there is full accountability. The implication here is that there is not accountability, whereas the legislation is quite clear in saying that the Minister is putting in place legislation which means that the board is accountable for every expense incurred.

Seanad: Children's Health Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Sep 2018)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Bill, which is complex. It deals with the amalgamation of three different organisations, which is always a complex process. I recall long ago when the maternity services in Cork amalgamated, which did not require the setting up of a board, the process was complex. It involved staff who had worked separately and independently in different organisations coming together. In...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Clinical Guidelines for the Introduction of Abortion Services: Discussion (19 Sep 2018)

Colm Burke: A lot of the issues I wanted to raise have already been raised so I will be very brief. I thank the witnesses for their presentations and for the work they have done and are doing in this area. I know there is a deadline of sorts in terms of 1 January and that they are making every effort to meet it and have everything in place. Dr. Boylan said one MRI scanner is sufficient. Has there...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Clinical Guidelines for the Introduction of Abortion Services: Discussion (19 Sep 2018)

Colm Burke: Who is Dr. Boylan suggesting should call that meeting at this stage?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Clinical Guidelines for the Introduction of Abortion Services: Discussion (19 Sep 2018)

Colm Burke: The question is who.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Clinical Guidelines for the Introduction of Abortion Services: Discussion (19 Sep 2018)

Colm Burke: That worries me slightly because I have asked for a similar situation to be set up regarding elderly care where all the stakeholders would be brought together, from GPs, to geriatricians and private providers of elderly care and it has not happened. I have asked the Department on numerous occasions that it would happen. I am concerned that there will be co-ordination on this by the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Clinical Guidelines for the Introduction of Abortion Services: Discussion (19 Sep 2018)

Colm Burke: In view of what has been said here today, I propose that the committee formally write to the Department of Health to ask it to convene a meeting of all parties involved in this matter. It is important that everyone sits around a table at a very early stage. The Department may claim it is waiting for the legislation to be published. However, if it called a meeting today, it would be two...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Sep 2018)

Colm Burke: I wish to raise a housing matter that is not often talked about, namely, the progress that has been made in the provision of student accommodation. My understanding is that more that 5,000 fully operational student beds have been brought into use over the last 12 months, with a further 4,000 being built and approximately 7,000 going through the planning process. This is part of the...