Results 8,281-8,300 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke

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...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Nov 2018)

Colm Burke: I wish to raise the Supreme Court decision yesterday that section 249(1) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 is unconstitutional. This subsection provides that someone in prison is not entitled to receive a pension. The case involved someone who was convicted of rape. The court ordered that he is entitled not only to be paid his pension but also to receive €10,000 in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Lyme Disease: Discussion (28 Nov 2018)

Colm Burke: I thank the delegates for their presentations. The disadvantage we have is that, other than the Chairman, none of us is a qualified medical practitioner. We have to rely on the advice given to us by medical practitioners. One of the documents I have is from the Infectious Diseases Society of Ireland which was signed by 28 consultants. It has made a presentation to us. I will quote one or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Lyme Disease: Discussion (28 Nov 2018)

Colm Burke: It is something that was made up for this committee this morning.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Lyme Disease: Discussion (28 Nov 2018)

Colm Burke: The IDSI quoted a 2016 detailed analysis by the Swiss Infectious Disease Society. Is Dr. Lambert saying the report produced by the Swiss authorities is incorrect?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Lyme Disease: Discussion (28 Nov 2018)

Colm Burke: The IDSI has quoted quite a number of reports. The IDSI relied on quite a number of research documents when they preparing its report because it referred to the documents in the report. The committee has received a report signed by 28 people. They are concerned that prolonged treatment, which is an issue that repeatedly arose in the submission, can lead to other medical difficulties.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Lyme Disease: Discussion (28 Nov 2018)

Colm Burke: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Lyme Disease: Discussion (28 Nov 2018)

Colm Burke: I am the only member of the committee who was here three years ago when this issue was dealt with. The same issues that were raised at that meeting have arisen this morning. We do not seem to have made any advances in the past three years.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Lyme Disease: Discussion (28 Nov 2018)

Colm Burke: Is it not then a matter for Dr. Lambert, as the professional here, to deal with the Infectious Diseases Society of Ireland? I mean in the sense that its view seems to differ in some respects with the view of Dr. Lambert.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Lyme Disease: Discussion (28 Nov 2018)

Colm Burke: In fairness, they were brought in three years ago.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Lyme Disease: Discussion (28 Nov 2018)

Colm Burke: We are lay people and being given the document in the same way as we were given it three years ago. It seems to be coming with a conflicting view. We have to deal with that issue. That is from where we are coming.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Lyme Disease: Discussion (28 Nov 2018)

Colm Burke: I thank the delegates for their presentation and the work they do. During the earlier presentation I referred to the report given to us by the delegates. It is very comprehensive and provides references to previous research. The delegates heard the earlier submissions. It was said medical personnel were not taking this matter seriously and that there had been a lot of criticism of the way...