Results 41-60 of 12,021 for speaker:Colm Burke

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Grant Payments (16 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: 76. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students who were awarded SUSI grants in the current academic year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55461/25]

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Rural Schemes (16 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: 136. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the timeframe for when the next round of funding for category 2 applications of the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund will be allocated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55944/25]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Redundancy Payments (16 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: 207. To ask the Minister for Finance to consider removing taxation on redundancy payments, given that it can be a particularly difficult time for people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56405/25]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (16 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: 224. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if special needs assistants will be urgently provided to a special school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56059/25]

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Budget 2026 (16 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: 411. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the level of funding available for community groups for improvements to community centres in Budget 2026; if funding will be made available for new builds in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55459/25]

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Budget 2026 (16 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: 412. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the funding that has been made available for rural community groups in Budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55460/25]

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: I welcome the reduction in VAT from 13.5% to 9% in the building industry. I understand there is a technical issue, however. If a housing agency owns the land and engages a contractor to build apartments, the builder will have to collect 13.5% rather than 9%. This will have an adverse effect on a number of projects in the Taoiseach's constituency, with which he and I are familiar. The...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: I can give the Taoiseach a copy of the letter.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (15 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: I thank all of the officials for the work they are doing in this area. It is complex. The whole issue has changed dramatically over the last three years. What are now priorities might not have been priorities three or four years ago. To the Department of Finance, we continue to spend just 0.2% of GDP on defence and we have not drawn down SAFE funding. We received only half the requested...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (15 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: Okay. The other issues were maintaining our independence and being able to upgrade what we have, where there is availability within the country, rather than buying from outside the country. Have those two items had been considered?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (15 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: Does it come in under public expenditure or would the Department of Defence have the details on that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (15 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: Is it not something that the Department of Finance would also carefully monitor?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (15 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: Would that information be available from the Department of public expenditure as regards what expenditure of the defence budget is going outside the country?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (15 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: Then there is whole issue of maintaining neutrality but at the same time making sure we have capabilities, looking at what Finland has done. What do we need to do in that whole area?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (15 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (15 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: That whole issue is being examined at the moment, am I correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (15 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: No, just the whole issue of looking at where we are sourcing our equipment and seeing if it is available through Irish companies or companies that have connections to Ireland. Is that being considered or is it just a case of putting it out to tender?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (15 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: I will move on to our representatives from Europe and deal with the issue of protection of the European borders. We have had support from the United States. That seems to be changing now. Do we have any idea as to the involvement of the United States now from a European context? How reliant are we? Is this the reason we now need to make sure member states are adequately equipped if there...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (15 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: We have a strong reliance on the United States, whether it is for-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Treatment of Rare Diseases: Discussion (15 Oct 2025)

Colm Burke: I thank the witnesses for coming here this morning. I thank them for their work over the past years. I go back to the 2018 report. I think I am the only member of the health committee who is still here. I think Ms McGrath was there in 2018 when that report was drafted. Clear proposals were set out in that report about trying to expedite the process. There has been very little change in...