Results 1,061-1,080 of 1,253 for speaker:John Crown

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (12 Feb 2015)

John Crown: The Chairman let everybody else go. It is me every time. This is the third time in a row and I had to leave the last meeting.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (12 Feb 2015)

John Crown: At the time Bismarck introduced this policy, the average age at death of a German was 41. The average age at death of a German who was still alive at 65 was 67. On average, people lived two to three years after retirement. A woman who is alive at the retirement age of 65 now will live well into her 80s, as will a man. The average age at death is approximately 80 for a man and mid-80s for...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Feb 2015)

John Crown: I apologise to the Cathaoirleach. I meant to be here earlier but my day job sometimes gets in the way. I wish to formally second Senator Power's amendment to the Order of Business regarding the regulation of e-cigarettes. I am grateful to Senator Mooney for standing in for me. There has been a great deal of misinformation and disinformation doing the rounds since we first proposed this...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Feb 2015)

John Crown: That is fine. My next question is very relevant, in geographic terms, to the Deputy Leader, who hails from an Atlantic perch located in the south west. I do not mean to precipitate any international incident but in recent weeks there has been press coverage in respect of bombers from a foreign power - at the height of the Cold War these were routinely used to carry nuclear warheads - flying...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Feb 2015)

John Crown: I apologise for interrupting, but I have some hearing issues. I asked the Leader whether he could find out if Ireland has a defence radar system.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Feb 2015)

John Crown: Thank you.

Seanad: Public Health (Regulation of Electronic Cigarettes and the Protection of Children) Bill 2015: First Stage (24 Feb 2015)

John Crown: I second the proposal.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (25 Feb 2015)

John Crown: I am sorry if I have delayed the Minister. As he knows, we have a professional relationship as peers in this House, but in my day job I work for him. I was a little bit tied up this morning, delaying my getting here. What are the contingency plans of the Department and the HSE in the event of the apocalyptic scenario of the great majority of the nurses in the country finding themselves...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (25 Feb 2015)

John Crown: I thank the Minister.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (25 Feb 2015)

John Crown: I am very grateful to the Minister for his thoughtful response. Nurses believe right now that their only two interactions with the board are to be given their money and to be disciplined by them. They are not aware of any great service being rendered to the profession, in particular in the area of continuous professional development and they feel the board has not stepped up to the mark in...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (25 Feb 2015)

John Crown: I agree with the Minister and I do understand the role of the nursing board but the best way to ensure safety is prospectively, not retrospectively. In Ireland we have too often followed the black box philosophy. We put structures in place to investigate health care disasters after they occur. If I may paraphrase an expression usually used in another context, it is the politics of the last...

Seanad: Health Services: Motion (25 Feb 2015)

John Crown: Again, I welcome the Minister. He is a young man and is about the same age as I was when I first became a consultant oncologist in Ireland's medical service. I was full of enthusiasm and optimism and thought a problem was what one was here to fix, not something that made one go away wringing one's hands, which is a common attitude in Ireland. I like to think I have managed to keep some of...

Seanad: Health Services: Motion (25 Feb 2015)

John Crown: I believe it can be fixed and I am not asking people to look at some pie-in-the-sky fantasy. I ask them to look at health systems that actually exist in countries that are similar to Ireland demographically, and on where they fit in terms of OECD wealth scales, etc. I acknowledge no system is without criticism but in such health systems, the torrent of criticism ours faces and which is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Implementation of National Rare Disease Plan 2014-18: Discussion (26 Feb 2015)

John Crown: I welcome the witnesses and beg their indulgence if I sound tired and cranky. It recently dawned on me that I am well into my 22nd year of being back in Ireland and I am still trying to grapple with the issues arising in regard to the common disease of cancer. We are not doing very well with the common diseases and, while that does not mean we should not try to deal with the rare diseases,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Implementation of National Rare Disease Plan 2014-18: Discussion (26 Feb 2015)

John Crown: Will there be national funding for the existing local unit? Will there be an acknowledgement that it is providing a national service in order that it will not have to fight with management of Crumlin hosital for a share of the local pie?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Implementation of National Rare Disease Plan 2014-18: Discussion (26 Feb 2015)

John Crown: I will make a little bet with Ms Byrne that it will tell her that she needs to have a service there right now and should just provide for a modest increase in funding to allow it to perform a national function without there having to be nickels and dimes from local hospital management pending the development of the national service, but we can wait for the report. My opinion is, however, free.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2015)

John Crown: I have noticed substantial speculation in recent days which is a result of the welcome attention that has been placed on a very unwelcome problem, namely, the question of overcrowding in emergency rooms and the ultimate cause of the bottlenecks that prevent people in need transitioning through emergency rooms into more appropriate inpatient beds, if they are not suitable for discharge to...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2015)

John Crown: I am formally asking the Leader of the House to consider it today. I also support Senator Quinn's motion.

Seanad: Succession (Amendment) Bill 2015: First Stage (3 Mar 2015)

John Crown: I second the proposal.

Seanad: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (3 Mar 2015)

John Crown: I echo some of Senator Henry's remarks. The Minister deserves great credit for taking this cause on board. As we have heard repetitively, but correctly, Ireland has been a leader in this area, first through the legislation introduced by Deputy Micheál Martin and then through the various Bills brought forward by the Minister, Deputy Reilly. I am not even a little concerned about an...