Results 1,781-1,800 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Nursing Homes Support Scheme Eligibility (5 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for her very comprehensive reply. I am delighted that a review is going ahead. As the Minister of State said, the issue is that the three-year cap applies in the case of sudden illness but not in the case of a gradual illness such as Parkinson's disease. I welcome the Minister of State's response and I am delighted that progress is being made. I hope to keep...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: General Scheme of Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (5 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the delegates for their presentations and the work they put into them. These presentations were not prepared in a short period. I thank each one of them for their efforts in setting out in writing the issues they see in the draft legislation. I wish to touch on one or two issues. The first is the issue of 14 days being an inadequate time in which to bring an appeal. What do the...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: I refer to the elections in Myanmar, formerly Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi has made tremendous progress in securing a move towards a democratic system. In the first speech I made to the European Parliament in 2008 I called for her release. She was under house arrest for over 21 years and was eventually released in 2010. It shows that taking the road of peaceful means and the democratic system...

Seanad: Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013: Second Stage (10 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for bringing forward this comprehensive Bill and I also thank her officials and the officials in the Office of the Attorney General for the work that has been done on the legislation. The enduring power of attorney is an issue covered in the Bill. In highlighting this issue, which was included in legislation introduced in 1996, I am not sure the public is aware...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: I welcome the announcement this morning by Apple that it proposes to create up to 1,000 new jobs at its plant in Hollyhill, Cork, which is in my local authority area of the north west ward. It is a welcome development that will bring the total number of jobs there to over 5,000. I also thank Apple for its contribution to the area, Cork city and this country over the last 30 years. Many...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: It would be appropriate that the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation come before the House to discuss his plans for the next two to five years in the context of job creation and the retention of young people in this country. That would be an important debate. Negative issues are constantly spoken about in this House. Let us talk about the positive issues, including the creation of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Child and Infant Mental Health: Discussion (12 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the witnesses for the comprehensive and detailed presentations this morning. Many of the points I wished to mention have already been raised and I will not go over them. Ms Mitchell gave a very comprehensive presentation on staff shortages and the difficulty with recruitment, . Is information available as to why we are finding it so difficult to recruit? Is it a shortage of people...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Challenges facing Camphill Communities of Ireland: Discussion (12 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the delegation for their presentation. I seek clarification on a few issues as I am trying to get a clear picture of the HSE's involvement. Please do not take this the wrong way, but I need clarification. It was indicated that the number of employees is approximately 500, but I presume not all of these work on a full-time basis. I have done a quick calculation on the money being...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Challenges facing Camphill Communities of Ireland: Discussion (12 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: Mr. Lynch said €33,000 was coming in for individual residents. Is it correct to say the residents are contributing themselves? It is important people do not get the impression they are not contributing. If they get a benefit, then Camphill gets part of that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Challenges facing Camphill Communities of Ireland: Discussion (12 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: I have a problem dealing with an estate where a trust is in place for a resident. If there is a trust with a resident in it and the trust wants to provide money to buy, for example, a vehicle we are now advised that, because other people in the facility get the benefit of that vehicle, Camphill cannot accept the funding. This has arrived on my desk recently and I have raised it with the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Challenges facing Camphill Communities of Ireland: Discussion (12 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: That is where the problem arises in my case. The funding is in a trust for a particular person but if we give it to an organisation such as Camphill it cannot buy a vehicle for that one person. The family want it to be done but is being told it cannot do it.

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: I, too, welcome Senator Cahill to the House and wish her well in her future career. I also want to pay tribute to former Senator Jimmy Harte. I wish him well and a full recovery. Senator Moloney referred to the employment figures. These now show that over 135,000 new jobs were created since February 2012. The unemployment rate is now 8.9%, which is a significant and welcome drop from the...

Seanad: Services for People with Asthma: Motion (18 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, to the House. She attends the House nearly two or three times a week. I thank her for dealing with this very important matter. I also thank the proposer of the motion, Senator Mary Ann O'Brien, and the seconder, Senator Averil Power. Over 470,000 people are affected by asthma, which is a very large percentage of the population. It...

Seanad: Services for People with Asthma: Motion (18 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Assistance Dogs in Ireland: Discussion (19 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the witnesses for their presentations and all the work they are doing. It might be helpful if we could get some idea of the total number of dogs, ranging from assistance dogs to dogs for the blind. What kind of numbers are we talking about? If we wanted to meet all of the targets, what numbers would we need to train every year from now on in respect of dogs for the blind and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Assistance Dogs in Ireland: Discussion (19 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: In regard to the conference in Cork, I thank Mr. Geary and all involved in arranging that conference. It was very useful in the context of getting people to work together. The presentation made today is proof that there is a lot more to be achieved by working together rather than as individual groups. Long may that continue. I hope the committee can be of assistance in relation to the...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: I would welcome a debate on the health issue. I agree there are difficulties that need to be resolved but there are many positive things happening. For example, in 2014 there were more than 3.2 million outpatient appointments where day care procedures were carried out or involving outpatient attendances with medical personnel. The free GP care scheme for those under the age of six has been...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Early School Leavers (25 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: The Life Centre in Cork was set up by the Christian Brothers a number of years ago and deals with young people who have dropped out of school. Some of these children are as young as ten years of age. At present, there are 45 children in the facility and more than 60 people work on a voluntary basis. These volunteers are either retired teachers, those who are studying for their higher...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Early School Leavers (25 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for that response. This is the first time I have seen the figure of €129,000. The Minister of State is correct in saying that 925 hours are allocated by the ETB but the problem with 925 hours is that it only equates to 1.5 teachers for the year for 45 students who have dropped out of school. These children have not fitted into the existing education...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Early School Leavers (25 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for his remarks. I ask him to relay to the Department of Education and Skills the suggestion that it gives the centre some funding on a pilot project basis. The Life Centre and others centres in the country were set up on a pilot basis to determine the best way to deal with children who have dropped out of the mainstream system.