Results 6,961-6,980 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke

Public Accounts Committee: Bogus Self-Employment: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: I fully accept that one cannot take a class action. I gave the example of the leaving certificate grading system where quite a number of people issued High Court writs but only one case went forward. In the scenario that Mr. McMahon is talking about, there is nothing preventing a group from issuing individual High Court appeals itself and for one person to then go forward to court with the...

Public Accounts Committee: Bogus Self-Employment: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: I have been involved where that has arisen. In one case, more than €400 million had to be refunded to people. There was a large group of people involved in that. It works.

Public Accounts Committee: Bogus Self-Employment: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: What appeals process does Mr. McMahon suggest should be put in place to deal with this issue?

Public Accounts Committee: Bogus Self-Employment: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: Would Mr. McMahon support legislation to that effect?

Public Accounts Committee: Bogus Self-Employment: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: Would Mr. McMahon accept that the process for an appeal to the Circuit Court was set up by way of legislation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Operation of the Medical Card Scheme: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: I thank the witnesses for their presentations and for dealing with the questions raised. I want to deal with an aspect I am concerned about, which is orthodontic treatment for people aged under 18 in Cork. We have a four to five year waiting list. In fact, the most recent letter I received from the HSE was to the effect that the people being treated at present have been on the list since...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Operation of the Medical Card Scheme: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: I do not understand why there is a different set of rules in one county compared with another county. Will Dr. Green provide a written response in this regard? I have put down questions to the Minister on the matter and am awaiting a reply. I would like a detailed response, with particular reference to why somebody in Cork who is on the list since 2016 is only now getting treated.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Operation of the Medical Card Scheme: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: How it is proposed to deal with the waiting list of five years in Cork? We do not have enough orthodontists employed in the public service to deal with it but there are people working in the private sector who could provide the service. What do the Department and the HSE propose to do with this list? Is it a case of waiting until it gets to six, seven or eight years? When will action be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Operation of the Medical Card Scheme: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: Can Dr. Green give a timescale for getting the waiting list down? If people do not take up the offer of the HSE work, how do the Department and the HSE propose then to deal with it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Operation of the Medical Card Scheme: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: Mr. Ryan referred in his presentation to an allocation of €3.269 billion in budget 2021 for the PCRS. What is the breakdown of that sum in terms of the amount going to pharmaceuticals and hospitals?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Operation of the Medical Card Scheme: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: I understand that a large quantity of orphan drugs are being brought in and there is a special fund for that purpose. Overall, however, the cost being incurred by hospitals for medication is significant. What kind of progress is being made in achieving cost efficiency in that area?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Operation of the Medical Card Scheme: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: Can we have a breakdown of those savings figures?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Operation of the Medical Card Scheme: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: Will Mr. Ryan also provide a breakdown of the allocation of €3.269 billion to which he referred?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Operation of the Medical Card Scheme: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: Will the witnesses from the HSE send on the full details of that breakdown?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Operation of the Medical Card Scheme: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: I thank Mr. Ryan.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Operation of the Medical Card Scheme: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: I have no difficulty with people going to Northern Ireland but I object strongly to the Department passing the buck in this way. It is directing people to the treatment abroad scheme when this service could easily be provided under the NTPF. I do not accept that we should be requiring people to travel long distances to access treatment. This is especially the case with orthodontics, which...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Operation of the Medical Card Scheme: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: Dr. Kavanagh will have to accept that is very hard for me to go back to a parent to say that I am waiting for another report. What we are looking for in Cork is action. We do not have orthodontists employed by the HSE so the HSE must consider alternatives but the response is not fast enough. It is not good enough that I would have to go back to a parent today and say that I do not have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Operation of the Medical Card Scheme: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: To clarify, is Dr. Kavanagh saying that under the NTPF, someone who is waiting for more than two years for orthodontic treatment, for example, can apply to be treated privately?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Operation of the Medical Card Scheme: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: What am I going to say to the parent who has been waiting for four years for orthodontic treatment for a child who is now 17? Am I supposed to tell that parent to find an orthodontist and run a go-fund-me campaign?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Operation of the Medical Card Scheme: Discussion (30 Mar 2021)

Colm Burke: I am still looking for the answer as to what I am to say to the parent. What is that parent to do this morning? Am I to go back to the parent and say that I do not have an answer on treatment for a child who has been waiting for four years?