Results 5,621-5,640 of 11,187 for speaker:Colm Burke

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Residential Tenancies Board - Financial Statements 2020 (24 Feb 2022)

Colm Burke: I will touch on regulation in relation to the role of the RTB. Much good work is being done on registrations but another issue is arising with regard to student accommodation. I got an email from seven students, dated 16 February this year. They are all staying in one apartment or house. The landlord is looking for a €1,500 deposit to be paid by each student if they want the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Residential Tenancies Board - Financial Statements 2020 (24 Feb 2022)

Colm Burke: Is the fact that this has been set out to seven individuals not an indication that the landlord does not believe any action will be taken against him by the RTB? I am sure this is not the only case around. This is just a group that contacted me. I am concerned that in the forthcoming academic year, we could have this happen across the board.

Public Accounts Committee: 2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Residential Tenancies Board - Financial Statements 2020 (24 Feb 2022)

Colm Burke: Okay. Can I just move on to another area-----

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (24 Feb 2022)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister for his presentation. He is very much focused on recruiting more staff. The figures I have show that in December 2014 there were 103,000 whole-time equivalent staff working in the HSE. In October 2021, this figure stood at 131,000. The biggest complaint I am hearing from consultants is that they cannot get access to theatre time. A number of consultants have told me...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (24 Feb 2022)

Colm Burke: A clear example of that is the gynaecological services in Cork where there were 4,500 people on the waiting list. The consultants had a difficulty opening the operating theatre in the Cork University Hospital maternity unit and ended up renting space in the Mater Private Hospital. The consultants moved down to the Mater Private Hospital to deal with public patients, mainly for day...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (24 Feb 2022)

Colm Burke: I will move to the junior doctor issue, which has been raised. There is a problem with getting junior doctors in many smaller hospitals such as Letterkenny, Mayo, Drogheda or even Clonmel. Going outside the major centres such as Cork, Limerick, Galway and Dublin, many of the hospitals are finding it difficult to get junior doctors. In previous schemes there may have been a rotation of...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (24 Feb 2022)

Colm Burke: I am aware of that but this relates to staffing.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (24 Feb 2022)

Colm Burke: I have raised the stamp 4 matter over the past two months. Everybody is telling me it is progressing but nobody is telling me the timeline. Are we talking about the end of June or July? Are we talking about next December? There are many people staying here in the hope they can get sorted out but they are finding if this is not sorted by July, for example, when they are applying for the...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (24 Feb 2022)

Colm Burke: I just wanted to raise with the Minister the concern I have on the people in the HSE, in particular the consultants who are due to retire. There does not seem to be a mechanism in place, because the complaints I am getting back from hospitals around the country are that nothing is done about recruitment of the replacement until the person has actually physically retired. That will be a huge...

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (24 Feb 2022)

Colm Burke: It is not happening. It was happening 20 years ago and for some reason there was a different structure for recruitment 20 years ago. The structure was totally changed. I have come across consultants who, two years after they retired, are still inside the facility as a locum because no replacement has been identified or put in place.

Select Committee on Health: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 38 - Health (Revised) (24 Feb 2022)

Colm Burke: In fairness, in my own constituency, for instance, there is a new extension being built to Heather House, which will provide accommodation for 60 extra beds. Likewise, we bought the golf links hotel at Blarney, and as I understand an extra 50 beds will go in there. The question is when will those facilities be ready to take the step-down patients and can those two projects be fast-tracked....

Select Committee on Health: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Feb 2022)

Colm Burke: The explanatory memorandum, of which I have a copy, is extremely helpful.

Select Committee on Health: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Feb 2022)

Colm Burke: Let us say an issue arises in regard to whether or not funding should be going towards the disability services-----

Select Committee on Health: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Feb 2022)

Colm Burke: -----how would a dispute be resolved in that scenario? I know there is a clear budget from each Department to the HSE in relation to services. Could there be a scenario where there is a disagreement regarding which should be providing funding for a specific area? If so, then how will that dispute be resolved?

Select Committee on Health: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Feb 2022)

Colm Burke: The Minister of State must accept that there is a cross-over of services in certain and an issue could arise in regard to which budget it comes in under. Is there a process to resolve that issue?

Select Committee on Health: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Feb 2022)

Colm Burke: On the issue of housing by local authorities, I find there is very little co-ordination. Say, for argument's sake, a housing authority is dealing with an estate of 80 houses, which was something I saw recently. I do not believe any house in that development was specifically set aside for people with disabilities. Could there be far more co-ordination in that area? Where a housing scheme...

Select Committee on Health: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Feb 2022)

Colm Burke: That is absolutely right.