Results 2,021-2,040 of 11,246 for speaker:Colm Burke

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tax Code (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: Will the Department consider increasing the small gift exemption for capital acquisitions tax, CAT, from €3,000 to €5,000 from each person per year? This was introduced in 2003 and it has not changed since. Will consideration be given to this? It is about the redistribution of wealth. If people find that when they give money to someone, there is going to be a liability for...

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive: Financial Statements 2023 (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: I thank the witnesses for attending, presenting and going through the figures. I wish to ask about the figure of €7.8 billion for pay and pensions. Is there a breakdown of the agency and locum costs that were paid out because staff were not available? The HSE spends a great deal of time training people up and down the line, be they care assistants, nurses, administrative staff...

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive: Financial Statements 2023 (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: Not one of those I spoke to had been asked.

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive: Financial Statements 2023 (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: That is not giving me any information about the reasons people are leaving. We are losing some good people and the HSE, the taxpayer and I need to find out why. We are spending a great deal of money on attracting people from abroad to fill vacancies. Why can we not identify why good people are leaving the service?

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive: Financial Statements 2023 (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: But we have not identified any of them.

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive: Financial Statements 2023 (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: Regarding the €1 billion paid out for agency staff and so forth, can that figure be reduced for the coming year and further on?

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive: Financial Statements 2023 (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: My understanding is that there are more than 350 medical locums. Can that number be reduced? How can we fast-track the reduction so that we can have people in posts permanently? Locums are costing us a great deal of money.

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive: Financial Statements 2023 (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: How many are there?

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive: Financial Statements 2023 (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: Do the witnesses accept that, in many cases, and especially in smaller hospitals, there is a difficulty in recruiting people to fill posts and it is taking much longer?

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive: Financial Statements 2023 (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: Have questions been asked as to how the HSE can improve this situation? In some of our smaller hospitals, up to 80% of the medical staff did not go through the Irish university or training systems.

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive: Financial Statements 2023 (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: I will move on to section 38 and 39 organisations. Last year, €6.3 billion was paid out. My understanding is that there are approximately 2,500 organisations. Some of them are large, for example, the voluntary hospitals, but some are quite small. Is any effort being made to see how we can get better on this front? In fairness, the organisations are doing a great deal of very good...

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive: Financial Statements 2023 (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: Moving on from that, my understanding is the number of beds in public nursing homes has reduced in real terms but the costs continue to go up. Can efficiencies be created in that area? For instance, some of the public nursing homes got an increase of more than 12% under the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, whereas some of the private nursing homes got an increase of 1.5%. That...

Public Accounts Committee: Health Service Executive: Financial Statements 2023 (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: I accept that but, for instance, the owners of one nursing home came to me. It is tied by section 38 regulations regarding salaries and everything else but it got an increase of 1.5%. They are now talking about cutting back, reducing the number of beds they are going to provide because they cannot keep going. They are now in a loss-making situation. I acknowledge the NTPF is not under Mr....

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: No.

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Projects (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: 47. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the action his Department is taking to progress the north ring road in Cork city; what level of funding will be allocated for the coming year, in view of the large volume of traffic which is now forced to travel through Mayfield, including traffic heading for the port facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43081/23]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Projects (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: 67. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the action his Department is taking to progress the Mallow relief road project; what level of funding will be allocated for the coming year, in view that €100,000 was allocated in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43080/23]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Bus Services (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: 170. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the action his Department is taking to improve the bus service in Cork in view that there are recurring issues with reliability and capacity; if additional funding will be provided to improve the service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43199/23]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Projects (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: 171. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to provide an update on progress made to date on the Banduff road scheme project; the level of funding that will be provided by the Department for the project in the coming year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43200/23]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (5 Oct 2023)

Colm Burke: 349. To ask the Minister for Health when the review of cardiac services will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43378/23]