Results 1,081-1,100 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: I am putting forward a constructive proposal. If Senators do not want to hear a constructive proposal, then they should not bother to listen.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: In fairness, the drafting of legislation is not something that can be done overnight; it takes quite an amount of time. As one who has been involved in the drafting of two pieces of legislation, I can see it is time to examine the issue and deal with it in a constructive way. I say to the Leader that this is a matter we should take up with Ministers and individual Departments to see whether...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: Deputy Bradford raised the issue of cross-border health care. As someone who was involved in this area at European level, I believe it is important the directive is transposed into Irish law. The directive has been passed for some time and the deadline for transposition into Irish law was October 2013. It is important the cross-border health care directive is transposed and I ask the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Suicide in Ireland: Discussion (13 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank all of the contributors for their contributions. I thank Senator Gilroy for bringing forward the report. Many of the issues I wanted to raise have been raised already. Deputy Kelleher referred to the problem in respect of males under 30 years of age. What changes have occurred in the past five or six years in this area? Has any analysis been carried out? Has the substantial...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Suicide in Ireland: Discussion (13 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank everyone for their contributions. I apologise for missing some of the contributions but I have read them. I raise the issue of suicide among males between the age of 15 and 30. Is there one area the witnesses believe we should prioritise in terms of trying to reduce suicide in that age group? There is a range of actions we should be taking, some of which, in fairness, are being...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Suicide in Ireland: Discussion (13 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: Dr. Brophy has referred to binge drinking and one of the worst days for this activity that I have witnessed is Arthur's day.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Suicide in Ireland: Discussion (13 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: Is there evidence that there is an increase?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Suicide in Ireland: Discussion (13 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: It would be an interesting piece of research.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: I join with colleagues in expressing sympathy to the McFadden family on the death of Nicky who as a councillor, Senator and Deputy worked tirelessly on behalf of her constituents. She will be sadly missed by her family, her constituents, all in the Houses of the Oireachtas and the Fine Gael Party. On the events that have occurred over the past 48 hours, I pay tribute to the Taoiseach for the...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: -----to ensure that all the information is properly dealt with.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: The Cabinet has dealt with the issue and we are moving forward in a proper manner rather than, as in the case of previous Governments, hiding behind State confidentiality and so on. The Taoiseach has acted properly in this matter. People are jumping to conclusions too early on in this matter. Let us hear all of the information before reaching conclusions. I would like to touch on an issue...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Health Professions Admission Test Administration (26 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I wish to raise an issue related to HPAT which is the exam that students who wish to study medicine must undertake. Concerns have been raised recently in the media. I think this examination was introduced in 2009. I am not too sure about the extent of what it has achieved since 2009. The concerns raised relate to over 700 people who attended...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Health Professions Admission Test Administration (26 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: I have no difficulty.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Health Professions Admission Test Administration (26 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: The fact that it costs €595 to attend a two-day course is not dealt with in the reply. We are now making getting into medical education beyond the reach of some people financially. This is probably not the only grind they are attending. The second issue I am concerned about relates to the second last paragraph in the reply, which states that "the results of the investigation may...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Planning Issues (1 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State and greatly appreciate her taking the time to deal with this Adjournment matter. I raise an issue that affects more than 250 houses in the constituency in which I live, Cork North Central. While some of them are one-off houses, some are being built in new housing estates. People are purchasing houses only to find they do not have land-line access, broadband...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Planning Issues (1 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: I have a major concern about planning authorities and planning contributions. I know of cases in which much development work that was to be carried out was not carried out five years after commencement despite the planning authorities having received planning contributions. There are 250 families affected directly. A new housing estate is being put in place and prospective residents are...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: I support Senator Marc MacSharry's call for a debate on universal health care. It concerns forward planning in the health care system. We face major challenges, particularly in the care of the elderly, and need to engage in the forward planning that was not undertaken in the 14 years Senator Marc MacSharry's party was in government. Over €500 million had to be paid back because of a...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: In one country it took over 15 years to implement. Let us do it properly and engage in forward planning. We are behind all other countries in Europe in respect of computerisation and the use of e-mail for records and communication.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Minister for Health (3 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank everyone for their contributions here this morning. I wish to refer to a reply to Question No. 7 on vacancies in consultant posts. Today is the first time that we have seen the real figures but they are only in respect of HSE hospitals and do not deal with the voluntary hospital issue. We can see that there are 250 wholetime equivalent posts consultant vacancies at present which...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Minister for Health (3 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: What is the situation in the voluntary hospitals, by comparison?