Results 8,261-8,280 of 11,246 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Second Stage (18 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: Time is up.

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Second Stage (18 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: We are all civilised.

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Second Stage (18 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Second Stage (18 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2018: Second Stage (18 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: When is it proposed to sit again?

Seanad: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (13 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: The Senator also fails to acknowledge that the information was in the public domain.

Seanad: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (13 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: We will not allow any amendments while the Senators are away.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care Services: Discussion (12 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: I thank all of the delegates for being here and for their presentations. All of the organisations working in this area, private, community and voluntary, are providing an excellent level of service to people. Are there services that are perceived to be offering a service but are not doing so? In other words, have any of the organisations here had to take over the care of people because...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care Services: Discussion (12 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: I referred to the 13,000 additional whole-time equivalent people employed in the HSE in four years. That is equivalent to €600 million in additional pay per annum. There are 135,000 people working in the HSE, including people working on a part-time basis, but when one boils it down there are 116,000 whole-time equivalents. In December 2014 the number was 103,000. The cost of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care Services: Discussion (12 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: I thank the witnesses for their presentations. I thank them for all the work they are doing in this very important and growing area. I will return to the cost issue in tendering for contracts. I was given figures some time ago that showed private home care providers are quoting something like €22 or €24 an hour. They referred to deducting what they pay to the staff, which is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care Services: Discussion (12 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: It should not be.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Home Care Services: Discussion (12 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: Have we looked for that information? I am concerned about the people who are being required to provide the service and being asked to tender. The tender has to meet the HSE's requirements but what is being paid out is way under what it costs the HSE to run it. Over the past four years the HSE has taken on an additional 13,000 people in all areas, including nursing, administration and...

Seanad: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: It is wrong to portray the medical profession in the way it is being portrayed. Every doctor in every hospital in this country will do their best for their patients and perform any procedure in a proper and humane manner. To say otherwise in this House is totally wrong.

Seanad: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: That is an unfair comment.

Seanad: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (10 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: On a point of clarification, any advice given to the Government by the Attorney General is never published, the same as I acted in a legal-----

Seanad: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: I have to agree with my colleagues in this matter. The word "avert" is very strict. That should be taken into account and the word "mitigate" considered instead. I certainly do have a concern on this issue. Action taken may not avert the final outcome and that is something that needs to be looked at from the perspective of the best interests of the patient. All medical practitioners will...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: I have no difficulty with the proposal to sit on Monday but I suggest that the starting time should be 2 p.m. or 2.30 p.m. because we could then also sit at 10.30 a.m. on Tuesday morning. I do not know what the Leader is considering but I suggest that as an option for him to consider. I have been looking back over recent years at the way this country has developed. On the one hand we have a...

Seanad: Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Second Stage (6 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State and I thank the Minister for bringing forward the legislation. The referendum was quite clear, as was the result - 66.4% in favour to 33.6% against. It is not like Brexit where by there was a marginal win for people who wanted to exit the EU. This is a clear mandate for the Minister, the Government and the Oireachtas to bring forward legislation. The...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Special Educational Needs Staff (4 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister and thank him for coming before the House to deal with this issue. I know a number of special needs assistants who have gone back to further education who have advised me that departmental circular letter 22/2012 prevents them from taking on any employment. The circular states:7.1 The taking up of regular paid employment of any kind elsewhere in the State while on...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Special Educational Needs Staff (4 Dec 2018)

Colm Burke: The circumstances have changed since this regulation was introduced. The point being made to me by these special needs assistants is that they are trying to further their career. They have gone back to full-time education and are not in receipt of any income. Under regulations, they are prevented from getting any kind of income, and this policy should be reviewed. I fully accept the...