Results 6,921-6,940 of 11,246 for speaker:Colm Burke

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (20 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: I will ask a further question. My understanding is there are different views between inspectors and management within the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority. In 2012, there were concerns raised with management in the authority about activities about which the inspectors were concerned. Was the Department aware of those concerns being raised by inspectors?

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (20 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: Surely the Department must be concerned. In 2017, a fishery officer alleged he raised the issue in late 2012 but nothing was done about it. Was the Department aware of the lack of action at managerial level? The report from the European Commission seems to say that there was a lack of action at managerial level in taking decisions about prosecutions.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (20 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: The EU investigation found that 33 cases were sent to the DPP and not prosecuted. Surely the Department must be concerned that someone is not doing their job and there is likely to be penalties as a result of lack of action?

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (20 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: I know but if I go back again, five years ago a number of the biggest fishing operators in the State were found to have falsely reported the size of catches but we were told files would not be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions on that occasion. We were also informed the value of the fraud they were suspected of perpetrating would not be calculated. If that happened five years ago,...

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (20 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: Penalties are now likely to be imposed.

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (20 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: I thank the witnesses for their replies to the earlier questions. I have two quick questions on different issues. On the SFPA, the PwC report concluded that the SFPA was not working effectively and required urgent attention. That was one report. There was a report from Deloitte in 2020 as well. What action will the Department take in dealing with all the concerns that have been raised?...

Public Accounts Committee: 2019 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (20 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: Are there targets for each year over the next ten years? Sometimes one can have a good year with a reduction in cases where TB has been identified but then the following year it could be back. Are clear targets set for each year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Vaccination Roll-out: Update (20 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: I thank Dr. Henry and Professor Butler. I very much appreciate the work that is being done by them and all their back-up support teams and the progress that has been made to date. I will raise a number of issues, the first of which is with regard to the roll-out of the vaccine and the approach now being adopted in Denmark in administering the vaccine. My understanding, and I may not have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Vaccination Roll-out: Update (20 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: The suggestion made by Dr. John Campbell, one of the people on the radio show on which I appeared - I am not a medical expert so I am not holding myself out as such - was that his experience was if there is a connection to a vein, the vaccine then reacts to something which may then contribute to the clotting mechanism. This is what was suggested by him. I am not sure what the witnesses'...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Vaccination Roll-out: Update (20 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: Does Dr. Henry believe that Denmark is overreacting on this issue? This is the approach now in Denmark.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Vaccination Roll-out: Update (20 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: As I understand it, the only way of indicating whether a person has hit a vein is by drawing back on the syringe.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Vaccination Roll-out: Update (20 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: I will move on to another issue regarding the roll-out of the vaccine for people who cannot access a GP because they are bed-bound. I am aware of a number of cases and know of one man, for instance, who is 90 years old. My understanding is that his GP has notified the HSE and to date, there has been no return contact. Is there a particular problem with the roll-out of the vaccine for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Vaccination Roll-out: Update (20 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: The families are not getting any feedback from anyone. I know they are contacting the GP directly, who then contacts the HSE. There is, however, no feedback directly to the families and there is huge anxiety. This 90-year-old person is bed-bound and has carers who come to him. His family feel he is very exposed in the sense that he has not been vaccinated and still needs that level of care.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Vaccination Roll-out: Update (20 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: I have a final question that will only take a few seconds. It relates to maternity hospitals. My understanding is that the Rotunda has introduced a new system for visits. Would it be possible to have one policy for all maternity units across the country? There is a big concern that partners or husbands are not being allowed into maternity hospitals. Is the policy going to be reviewed?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on the Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic: National Public Health Emergency Team (13 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: I thank Dr. Glynn for his presentation. May I go back to the AstraZeneca issue? I know many people have raised it. It is about getting information out there. We are now talking about the over-60s and saying the focus will be on AstraZeneca, but we have a huge problem now in that they are not convinced. I wonder if a lot more could be done to get information out there to show why this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on the Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic: National Public Health Emergency Team (13 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: I will move on to another issue, and I know one or two Deputies have already raised it. It is about the use of antigen, in particular as it relates to, for argument's sake, attending maternity wards, and that issue was raised. We are now talking about doing a pilot project on this, but is there not enough research done on this already? We fully accept that it is not comprehensive or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on the Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic: National Public Health Emergency Team (13 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: I have a question on the quarantine of people flying in from abroad. In the US people are being allowed in from abroad provided they can show they have had the required vaccination. Why can we not apply the same rule here? We could introduce antibody testing, whereby when people arrive a test can be done to see whether people have antibodies. Can this be considered rather than going down...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Update on the Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic: National Public Health Emergency Team (13 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: The US has decided to go down this route and it is a far bigger jurisdiction. It is prepared to take that risk and is satisfied it can do so with the bigger numbers it has to deal with.

Vaccination Programme and Covid-19: Statements (1 Apr 2021)

Colm Burke: Last week, I raised the issue of long Covid and did not receive a written response. Could I have a written response on the plan the Department and HSE intend to put in place to deal with this issue? I refer to the Sláintecare report on elective hospitals for Cork, Galway and Dublin. The plan has been totally and utterly watered down. Covid has clearly illustrated that there are...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Insurance Industry (31 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: 136. To ask the Minister for Finance the progress made by the new office to promote competition in the insurance market to date; the level of engagement that has occurred; when a reduction in the cost of insurance is expected to take effect; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17082/21]