Results 3,081-3,100 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 May 2019)

Colm Burke: I thank the House for its support for a Private Members' Bill that has passed through the Seanad and is now going through the Dáil. The Cabinet approved a money message for the Bill in question yesterday. This means the Bill can go through the Dáil and be enacted. We hope this will happen by July of this year. The Bill is important for the families of missing persons. I...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Road Network (16 May 2019)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State. My issue is that, as the Minister of State is aware, there is a long-standing proposal to build the new Cork to Limerick motorway. It is back on the books and a new contract was signed recently to start the initial process of identifying the route and delivering a motorway between Cork and Limerick, or as people in Limerick would say, the Limerick to Cork...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Road Network (16 May 2019)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for her contribution. It concerns the one area where road infrastructure needs to be built. The reason I suggest the eastern section should be done first is the western section is complicated because of the landscape. If there is a decision to work on all parts of the north ring road together, one will keep hearing the project is expensive and that the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 May 2019)

Colm Burke: My colleague on the opposite side of the House raised the issue of housing. The Central Statistics Office, CSO, has released figures today for house and apartment completions in the first quarter of 2019. The total number is 4,275.This is very welcome news. It shows that every effort is being made by the Government to encourage the building of new houses and apartments, as well as making...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 May 2019)

Colm Burke: I join colleagues in congratulating those who were elected in the local elections. I wish them well for the next five years. It is important that we thank those who retired at the election, some who served only one term and others who served many terms. Many of them made a contribution over a long number of years and contributed not only to the local council but also to their local...

Seanad: Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2018: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (28 May 2019)

Colm Burke: Now.

Seanad: Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2018: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (28 May 2019)

Colm Burke: At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.

Seanad: Mental Health Services: Motion (29 May 2019)

Colm Burke: That is not true.

Seanad: Mental Health Services: Motion (29 May 2019)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This morning, the Oireachtas heath committee met representatives of the Mental Health Commission and of a group campaigning for mental health reform. Presentations were made to the committee and many interesting issues arose at that meeting. I raised a number of issues myself about which I am concerned but it is important to recognise the...

Seanad: Message from Joint Committee (29 May 2019)

Colm Burke: At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Schools Refurbishment (11 Jun 2019)

Colm Burke: In the context of the pressing problems arising as a result of climate change, this matter relates to giving leadership within local communities. We need to get the message across that we all can contribute to reversing the damage caused by the burning of fossil fuels, etc. We can do so by retrofitting primary schools and installing solar panels in order that they can produce electricity,...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Schools Refurbishment (11 Jun 2019)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. He referred to the past 17 years in the context of this programme. Should we not take a more aggressive approach to school renewal projects by using all available resources in order to ensure that there is energy saving, that value for money is secured and that oil and other fossil fuels will not be burned unnecessarily in order to...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (12 Jun 2019)

Colm Burke: The Scally report released yesterday identified the fact that where there were contracts with laboratories the work had been sub-contracted. This morning I raised queries at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health about whether there was a provision in the contracts that allowed it to be sub-contracted. I raise an extremely concerning issue about women under 25 years of age who do not come...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Jun 2019)

Colm Burke: I agree with Senators Craughwell and McFadden on the failure to deal with the pay issue in the Defence Forces, which has dragged on for a long time.There are people in the Defence Forces who are extremely committed to working in and remaining in the Defence Forces but they are not getting the support they require. This review has been long-fingered and we have been waiting for its...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Jun 2019)

Colm Burke: There are 100,000 more people in employment. Therefore, there is more income coming in.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Local Authority Boundaries (19 Jun 2019)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for coming to deal with the matter of the extension of a city boundary in Cork, in which he was very involved. There is a lack of clarity regarding the jurisdiction of the city sheriff and the coroner for the area. I spoke to the coroner last week, who advises me that his jurisdiction remains along the lines of the old city boundary. I understand that there is...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Local Authority Boundaries (19 Jun 2019)

Colm Burke: This causes a legal difficulty. The county sheriff is appointed as the sheriff for Cork county, but this reply indicates that the county sheriff now also has jurisdiction in parts of the city. Does the law allow that, given that it is now a totally different boundary? The State may be open to legal challenge if a person appointed as the county sheriff for Cork now has jurisdiction for part...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Local Authority Boundaries (19 Jun 2019)

Colm Burke: The legal issue is what I am concerned about and that someone may make a challenge. The Department should get written clarification from its own point of view.

Seanad: Coroners (Amendment) Bill 2018: Second Stage (19 Jun 2019)

Colm Burke: That is not true.

Seanad: Coroners (Amendment) Bill 2018: Second Stage (19 Jun 2019)

Colm Burke: This legislation is very welcome and the changes are necessary. I have one issue, however, which I raised a number of years ago. It is about inquests being held in a timely manner and I am not sure, having examined the Bill, whether this issue is contained within it. We have been talking about maternal deaths and, when I raised this issue a number of years ago, it followed a maternal death...