Results 5,101-5,120 of 12,000 for speaker:Colm Burke

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: General Scheme of the Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services (Safe Access Zones)) Bill 2022: Discussion (19 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: I have covered all of the issues that I wanted to raise. In terms of the timescale of the Bill, do the witnesses think we can get it through by December? What timescale does the Department envisage?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: General Scheme of the Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services (Safe Access Zones)) Bill 2022: Discussion (19 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: Let us say that we will come back very shortly with our report. What kind of time period will there be before the Department comes to a conclusion on what should be included or excluded? What kind of timeframe is the Department talking about?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: General Scheme of the Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services (Safe Access Zones)) Bill 2022: Discussion (19 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: I thank the witnesses.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (18 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: 97. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will outline the process for contribution fee refunds in 2022; when students can expect a refund of their contribution fee in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51686/22]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (18 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: There was a welcome announcement on the refund of €1,000 to students. I want to ascertain when the process for the repayment of this €1,000 will commence? Will it occur over the next eight to ten weeks? The other issue is we saw the refund of moneys to people in the health sector delayed for quite a period. Is the structure established to make sure this can be dealt with in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (18 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: Has there been engagement with the third level institutions? Is it a case that the Department will have to provide the funding to those institutions to enable them to provide the refunds? When will that process commence?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Third Level Fees (18 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: I refer to the PhD students who will get the additional €500 as part of their stipend. When is that likely to be paid? Is provision made for that in 2022?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Further and Higher Education (18 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: I thank Deputy Stanton for raising this important question and the Minister of State for his response. We need to consider this issue. People are dropping out of the education system and finding it difficult to get back into training. We need to do much more for them. One of the frightening figures over the past week was that 12% of households of people aged 20 to 64 years did not have an...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Apprenticeship Programmes (18 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: I thank my colleague for raising this issue and I thank the Minister for the reply. Regarding wind turbines at sea, in view of the fact we do not have a huge amount of expertise in that area to date, I ask whether part of that funding would allow companies to have people work overseas for a period in order to get experience or necessary training. A number of other countries are well ahead...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (18 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: 106. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department plans to introduce additional funding for apprentices to support them to continue in their apprenticeships in view of the increase in the cost of living; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51687/22]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Fuel Prices (18 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: 222. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the action that is being taken to support businesses with the cost of petrol and diesel, particularly those that employ drivers, in view of increased prices since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51209/22]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (18 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: 442. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a pupil (details supplied) with a diagnosis of autism who changed school and was notified transport would be provided under the school transport scheme for children with special needs service under the new school will receive this service, given their parents have been informed this service is no longer possible; and if she will make a...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (13 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: Additional money has been made available in the budget to give further support to private nursing homes. However, there is concern that the Department has not engaged regarding when this money will be made available. As the Tánaiste is aware, 16 nursing homes have closed since January. We need to get people out of hospital and into step-down facilities and there is an urgent need for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cost of Living Issues (13 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: 60. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when cost-of-living payments scheduled before Christmas 2022 will issue to recipients; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50532/22]

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General - Chapter 9: Implementation of the National Broadband Plan (13 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: I thank all our guests this morning for their presentations. I was recently at an event celebrating Deputy Bruton’s 40 years in the Dáil. The first parliamentary question he ever submitted was on whether a particular constituent of his was going to get a telephone connection. The constituent had been waiting for more than three years for a connection. It looks like we are now...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General - Chapter 9: Implementation of the National Broadband Plan (13 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: Sorry, but I know of places where the nearest access point is 20 miles away. I raised this with Cork County Council and it said there was no more funding and that it was not going to get involved any further, meaning the issue was written off. I am saying we have a substantial delay. A large number of people who now want to work from home are prevented from doing so and have to travel 20...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General - Chapter 9: Implementation of the National Broadband Plan (13 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: I ask that this aspect be reviewed. I congratulate everybody involved in rolling out fast-tracked connections for schools. Now is the time to do the same for community hubs. Due to the impact of Covid-19 and of having to work from home, some people have been greatly frustrated and experienced many difficulties. Many people with young children now also want to work from home more so they...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General - Chapter 9: Implementation of the National Broadband Plan (13 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: My second issue is also one I have raised before. I refer to the frustration in those areas which are borderline amber and blue. The blue areas are those where commercial entities are doing the connections. I have been told about several such situations in the last week alone. There is one area where the box that Eir has put in place is at the end of an avenue leading to a farm. That...

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General - Chapter 9: Implementation of the National Broadband Plan (13 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: When are we likely to have a decision on this aspect? It has been stated it will be by the end of the year, but when can the process of implementing the connections then start? Are we talking about February and March, or later?

Public Accounts Committee: 2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications
2021 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General - Chapter 9: Implementation of the National Broadband Plan (13 Oct 2022)

Colm Burke: The commercial operators' argument would be that NBI is getting so many thousands of euro per connection, whereas if those operators do the connections they will not. If those commercial operators have any additional costs, they will not get any more remuneration. I think this is their big argument for not doing these connections. It is extremely important that we try to expedite this...