Results 521-540 of 1,253 for speaker:John Crown

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

John Crown: Am I, as a public representative who was elected by a university group, one of whose constituent colleges I am making an editorial comment about, to be prevented from bringing to the committee any expertise and experience I have over 20 years because of some highly theoretical argument that some legal department or PR department in a medical school some place might have an objection to it?...

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

John Crown: On the specific questions I raised today, I do not believe the specific question about the gagging clause in the GP contract has been as yet addressed in the written answer I have been given nor has the onerous increase in the bureaucratic demands which will be made on GPs in the new under six GP contract. Similarly, I would like to get a quick opinion as to why we do not have electronic...

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

John Crown: Go raibh maith agat. I am speaking slightly out of turn because I misunderstood the procedure for dealing with the questions this morning. However, I shall make a few very general points. I welcome the Minister's unveiling of the White Paper on universal health insurance. I look forward to studying it, collaborating with him and working on it in the years to come. It is something that I...

Seanad: Higher Education and Research (Consolidation and Improvement) Bill 2014: Second Stage (2 Apr 2014)

John Crown: I am strongly supportive of Senator Barrett's Bill. The presence of people like Senator Barrett in these Houses should be a lesson to us all. It says something about the way politics in general esteems expertise and the way our society esteems expertise that there have been so few people with his qualifications in positions of political authority in a country that has been undone by a lack...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Apr 2014)

John Crown: I ask the Leader to bring to the attention of the Minister for Health the fact that there are now 32,000 children on waiting lists for hearing assessments. Some 16,000 are waiting for a first assessment and a further 16,000 are waiting for treatment, having been assessed. A substantial number are waiting for more than one or two years. There is a geographical discrepancy, but the...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Apr 2014)

John Crown: I am formally asking the Leader to change tomorrow's Order of Business and not discuss the Bill tomorrow.

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

John Crown: I am very grateful to the Cathaoirleach for giving me a small amount of time. I did not realise that this item was on the agenda and I wanted to take advantage of the Minister of State's presence to state that this is an area about which I have had some concerns. When the examination was first introduced, there were a number of high-profile cases of youngsters in this country who had full...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Mar 2014)

John Crown: I extend my sympathies to the family of Deputy Nicky McFadden. The disease from which she suffered is an extraordinarily cruel one and she bore it with great bravery. It was particularly inspiring that she went public and used the knowledge of her illness in an attempt to raise much needed research funds for the condition. Without wishing to politicise the tragedy, it would be remiss of...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Mar 2014)

John Crown: It has been documented repeatedly in the past year by professional bodies and patient representative groups that there have been increased challenges in obtaining medical cards when these dread diseases occur. We all understand the economic context in which we are operating, but this is an issue that should be reviewed. I am grateful to the Leader for his help at every stage in our efforts...

Seanad: General Scheme of the Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Bill 2014: Statements (11 Mar 2014)

John Crown: I propose to share time with Senator Quinn. The question before the Government of our Republic with respect to this Bill is a very simple one: does it believe in democracy or does it not? A second question is whether all citizens of our Republic and those qualified to vote have equal rights in selecting their public representatives, or whether some have more rights than others. In...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Report on Perinatal Deaths at Midland Regional Hospital: Discussion (6 Mar 2014)

John Crown: My key questions were not answered.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Report on Perinatal Deaths at Midland Regional Hospital: Discussion (6 Mar 2014)

John Crown: Through the Chair, key questions of mine were not answered.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Report on Perinatal Deaths at Midland Regional Hospital: Discussion (6 Mar 2014)

John Crown: I yield to Senator Burke.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Report on Perinatal Deaths at Midland Regional Hospital: Discussion (6 Mar 2014)

John Crown: Were the foreign body episodes laid at the hands of the consultants, nurses or NCHDs? What recruitment process was used to recruit the junior doctors who were in these unrecognised non-training positions, whose very existence I would question?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Report on Perinatal Deaths at Midland Regional Hospital: Discussion (6 Mar 2014)

John Crown: I welcome our guests and extend sympathy to those who had tragedies visited on their families in Portlaoise. I will try to act in a fashion becoming of the Parliament but I must be harsh. All I can say is this room reeks of whitewash, and I am sorry this report does not address core issues. I mean no personal disrespect to anybody but people employed in the Department and HSE have grown up...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2014)

John Crown: I ask the Leaders to draw the attention of the Minister to the state of our obstetric services and the staffing levels in them and possibly to arrange a debate. The tragic loss of the parents in Portlaoise deserves our sympathy. As a parent, I cannot feel how awful it must be to lose a child and particularly to lose a child in the circumstances outlined. I am very troubled by one of the...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2014)

John Crown: How can communications problems be labelled as a major issue, as it is in the report, without acknowledging that a rapidly rotating cohort of agency temporary staff fosters the very same problems of communications?

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2014)

John Crown: I am looking for a debate. One and a half years after the tragic events in Galway, the tragedy that lady and her family went through and after our handwringing and agonising last year about the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, has one extra penny been invested in obstetric services and maternity services? The answer is "No".

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Feb 2014)

John Crown: Two years ago, in conjunction with Senators Daly and van Turnhout, I proposed legislation to ban smoking in cars where children are present. The Bill has passed a number of stages and we should be given a definite date for the debate on Report Stage. I received correspondence from one of the officials involved telling us that the various Departments' Report Stage amendments would be ready...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Ambulance Response Times: Discussion (25 Feb 2014)

John Crown: I also wish to welcome our guests. As somebody who has been a consumer of the ambulance service on the medical side for a long time, I would like to ask the witnesses to address two specific operational questions, one of which is Dublin specific. The situation is common in Dublin whereby the emergency ambulance will be called to somebody who has got an existing relationship with a hospital...