Results 5,681-5,700 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: General Scheme of the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2022)

Colm Burke: Three countries - Estonia, Finland and Hungary - banned the use of flavourings. Have we any lessons to learn from what they did? Did they get it right or are there things we can learn in regard to dealing with this legislation that we should be aware of?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: General Scheme of the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2022)

Colm Burke: We want to have the most effective legislation possible so we can assist people and reduce the number of people who smoke, but also reduce the number of people who have to use e-cigarettes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: General Scheme of the Public Health (Tobacco and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Mar 2022)

Colm Burke: I thank our guests for their presentation. With regard to the figures for teenagers and e-cigarettes, my understanding is that a 2015 study showed that 23% of teenagers used e-cigarettes whereas a study in 2019 showed it was 37%. Teenagers who use e-cigarettes are five times more likely to move on to smoking cigarettes. How do the witnesses view the challenge in dealing with that? How can...

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 thank our guests for their presentation. I wish to discuss an issue I have raised previously, that being, student accommodation near third level institutions and residents groups being unable to file complaints about a large number of unregistered properties that they have surveyed. A complaint about each property has to be filed individually. My point has to do with making efficient use...

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: The letter I received from them is dated Tuesday, 22 February of this year and states that properties surveyed in 2017 which were not registered and had tenants still have tenants and are still not registered. That is a large number of properties in the immediate area of University College Cork. Why has nothing happened in the past four years? It raises questions about the effectiveness of...

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: In what circumstances would they not require to be registered?

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 Mr. Byrne saying we are down to 17 properties that are not registered and the rest of the 142 are registered?

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: What is the timeframe for resolving the issue? It has been ongoing for some time. I understand there is a similar problem in Limerick. What action has been taken on that?

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...