Results 1,701-1,720 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Public Health Policy (1 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. I note the manner in which the issue is being dealt with by the Minister and the Department. I welcome the fact that a campaign will start in July. It is important to involve GPs in the campaign because they are the first point of contact when people are concerned about medical issues. I ask that a real effort is made to engage...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: I, too, convey my sympathies to the families of those who lost their lives yesterday in Baltimore. These incidents occur during the summer months in particular when all of us need to be careful. Incidents occur which we do not expect, and this is one of those tragedies. We should encourage people to be mindful in those circumstances. We cannot control everything that happens to us but...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (2 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State. As I understand the current situation, once the pupil-teacher ratio is at or above 56, the school is entitled to retain or get a third teacher. I am open to correction on that. I further understand that there are about 20 schools which will lose a third teacher over the coming months. If the ratio was dropped to 53, that would not arise. I have a...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (2 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for attending and for his reply, which is exactly what I was looking for. I also thank him for the information and the comprehensive review of this matter, which will be welcomed by a number of small schools. I ask him to convey my thanks to the Minister.

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: I agree with Senators who have expressed concern about the protest yesterday and compliment the members of the Garda on the manner in which they dealt with it. In fairness to them, they put up with a lot of abuse and threats and managed very well in a difficult situation. I do not think any garda should have to put up with the abuse endured yesterday. On the matter of social welfare...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: It is reform. We are reforming and we need to have it in place; it is all part of the long-term planning we have to deal with.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospital Consultants Recruitment (8 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: I also welcome the Minister and thank him for dealing with this matter. I have a concern about a vacancy that has arisen at Beaumont Hospital where Professor David Hickey was a consultant for many years and provided an excellent service in carrying out transplants. I understand he has retired and that a second consultant who worked at the hospital has returned to the country. The number...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospital Consultants Recruitment (8 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: Dr. Hickey took early retirement, but surely this was flagged in the hospital beforehand. Why was there such a delay in advertising for a replacement? What is the HSE now doing? Considering that it took me six months to obtain a list of vacancies from the HSE, it appears that there is no national co-ordination. I asked what consultants were to retire in the following 12 months and in what...

Seanad: Choice of Court (Hague Convention) Bill 2015: Second Stage (8 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and welcome this Bill. As one who has been involved in court procedures I recall dealing with a company in the Minister of State’s constituency. Its first contract was made in Ireland, the matter went to arbitration and we spent 11 days arguing about whether there were one or five contracts. If there were five another two were made in...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: I agree with my colleague, Senator Paschal Mooney, on the matter in regard to Amnesty. When it presented its report to the Joint Committee on Health I decided not to comment on it because I felt that the research provided to the committee was not properly done. I have serious reservations about that report which was presented to the Joint Committee on Health and Children. On the pensions...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Legal Highs: Discussion (9 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the witnesses for their presentation and the work they are doing in a very difficult area. Their work is of help to a lot of people. Have we any idea of the percentage of young people availing of this drug, although I presume we are talking about any age from 14 or 15 up? I presume it is an illegal high. Is it spreading by word of mouth within communities or are people actively...

Seanad: Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Second Stage (Resumed) (14 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I also welcome the legislation. I wish to raise a number of points and deal with some matters that the Minister of State raised. In regard to vacant sites, as someone who has been involved in the legal profession for a long number of years, I have found that sometimes one of the problems associated with development concerns the assembly of a...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: I was disappointed to hear what Senator Darragh O'Brien said on the transplant issue. I certainly will follow it up, as I will be meeting with the Minister within the next 24 hours on the matter. The employment of consultants is an issue I have raised consistently over the last four years. We face major challenges filling posts over the next two to three years. We also have challenges...

Seanad: Transplant Patient Services: Motion (15 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House. He gave a comprehensive reply when I raised this issue as a Commencement matter. I want to refer again today to the issue of long-term planning and the need to ensure vacancies are flagged at an early stage. I know it is not within the Minister's powers to resolve that immediately. The last time I debated this matter with the Minister, I made the point...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: I am actually disappointed with the Leader of the Opposition for raising the matter that he raised this morning relating to judges. It is totally-----

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: I am aware of that.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: I have a question for the Leader and I will deal with that. I think it is a disgraceful comment.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: It is a disgraceful comment. Senator Daly is a disgrace.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: Senator Daly is an absolute disgrace.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jul 2015)

Colm Burke: There is an appeals process available. Senator Daly does not know the details of how the courts system works.