Results 8,741-8,760 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Review of National Maternity Strategy 2016-2026: Discussion (21 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: On open disclosure, where it is decided to have an external review, can the open disclosure occur before the external review is carried out?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Review of National Maternity Strategy 2016-2026: Discussion (21 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: However, occasionally there may be a situation where they do not have all the answers.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Review of National Maternity Strategy 2016-2026: Discussion (21 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: On the issues of external reviews and fast tracking, I have come across cases where there has been quite a delay in carrying out the external reviews. Has any process been put in place to try to have those done in a timely manner?

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: Like Senator Devine, I would like to thank the library service for the very comprehensive document it produced on elderly care. I have previously stated that the number of people aged over 65 now totals 637,000 and by 2030 the figure will be over 1 million. That is why we published the national plan for our health service. We currently have 2.6 beds per 1,000 of population, whereas the...

Seanad: Housing: Statements (Resumed) (20 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I welcome the funding that has been provided for the Cork area over recent months. I make no apologies for putting pressure on both the city council and the Department in that respect. The Minister came to this House to announce a €39 million budget for seven projects. We will have 134 houses built by the city council. The Boyce's...

Seanad: Housing: Statements (Resumed) (20 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: We need to be very careful in respect of Northern Ireland at present. It is a time for cool heads and calmness. There is a problem in that we do not have an Assembly. We have a group representing the entire population of Northern Ireland in the House of Commons that has the support of about 36% of the population. There is another 64% that is not represented there. We really do not know...

Seanad: Telecommunications Services (Ducting and Cables) Bill 2018: Second Stage (14 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: I welcome this important Bill. In respect of wayleave agreements, and in particular access to broadband, it is important that where we do work of any description we should ensure that we also put in ducting for additional services that may be required in the future. When I was Lord Mayor of Cork city in 2003 and 2004 and we did major work on Patrick Street we insisted on an adequate amount...

Seanad: Telecommunications Services (Ducting and Cables) Bill 2018: Second Stage (14 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: Next Tuesday.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Review of the Sláintecare Report (Resumed) (14 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: I thank the delgates for all of the work they have done in their comprehensive research and reports. It it appreciated. My first question is about care of the elderly. The report states there are now approximately 640,000 people over 66 years of age and that the figure will be 1.1 million by 2030. The current ratio of people in nursing homes and community hospitals - there are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Review of the Sláintecare Report (Resumed) (14 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: No, the figure I quoted was 640,000 of our population is aged over 66 and that figure will increase to 1.1 million by 2030.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Review of the Sláintecare Report (Resumed) (14 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: Okay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Review of the Sláintecare Report (Resumed) (14 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: Electronic communication is an issue. Our problem here is that we have something like 1,700 different computer systems in our health service currently. In Denmark, they have 25 and are working down towards five. I understand that in Denmark there is a patient medication card. If one is in hospital or with a doctor, it is possible to get one's file up from the card and to put the...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: I agree with the points made by my colleagues on the question of councillor's pay. We have all raised this issue in our own parties in the past 12 months to two years. While councillors get travelling expenses for travelling to council meetings, what is not taken into account are all the other meetings that they attend. I know there are councillors in the Gallery and I welcome those...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospital Appointments Administration (7 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State. As I know that he has come from a meeting of the Joint Committee on Health, I will not delay him. This matter was touched on at the committee meeting. It is about people who have appointments to attend hospital outpatient clinics. The figure given at the committee meeting was that 479,000 people had not kept their appointments, but that figure does not...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospital Appointments Administration (7 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. In the 31 hospitals that have engaged the text messaging solution, is there any indication as to whether it has helped to improve attendance levels and reduce the number of non-attendances? I understand the overall number of outpatient appointments across all hospitals is 3.2 million per annum. That figure was not indicated in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (7 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: I thank all those who made presentations this morning. I apologise if I go over some of the ground again. I had to deal with a Commencement Matter in the Seanad. I am grateful for the comprehensive reply to my question on the availability of drugs. There is a question mark over short supply of some medication, some pharmaceuticals. I have got a comprehensive reply and I appreciate that....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (7 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: The number of public health nurses has only increased by 3.69% in that period. We talk about trying to keep people out of the hospital system, but if we do not have people working in the community, then we have a problem. That is the point I am raising.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (7 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: If the Vice Chairman wants to deal with that issue, I will come back to the issue of staffing levels.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (7 Feb 2018)

Colm Burke: I still have a concern about staffing issues and I am sorry for raising the matter now. If one looks at the 2015 annual report, the number of managerial staff was down as 4,700 because grades 7 and 8 were listed under the heading of managerial capacity. We have changed this and taken them out of the managerial capacity category and listed them under the administrative capacity category....