Results 8,781-8,800 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018: Second Stage (Resumed) (30 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Tánaiste and I thank him for his contribution. I thank Senator Black for bringing forward this Bill. I agree with my colleague, Senator Boyhan, about the importance of engaging in debate. The introduction of this legislation has led to discussion on this issue in Ireland and throughout the international community. My Sinn Féin colleague mentioned the boycott of...

Seanad: Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018: Second Stage (Resumed) (30 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: Yes. That is right.

Seanad: Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018: Second Stage (Resumed) (30 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: That is the point I am making. No legislation was put in place to organise that boycott. We can organise a boycott in this country without legislation. While I welcome the Bill, I have concerns about it. I suppose I am looking at it purely from a legal point of view. In particular, I note that section 4 of the Bill, which relates to regulation, provides that "the Minister may make...

Seanad: Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018: Second Stage (Resumed) (30 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: I accept the point the Senator is making, but I am talking about this aspect of the matter from an EU point of view.

Seanad: Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018: Second Stage (Resumed) (30 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: Section 7, which relates to the sale of settlement goods, provides that it "shall be an offence for a person to sell or attempt to sell settlement goods". The burden of proof will be on the State. It will be difficult for the State to prove that the goods were produced in a location where settlement had occurred. That will be one of the problems with this legislation. I agree with the...

Seanad: British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly (Committee D) Report on Childhood Obesity: Statements (25 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: I will be brief because a lot of the issues that I wanted to deal with have been referred to already. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, to the House. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, for being here earlier and I also thank my party colleague, Senator Catherine Noone, the other members of the committee and the those who are involved in the British-Irish...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Flood Relief Schemes Status (24 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: I know there are many demands on the Department in respect of flood relief but this matter goes back to 2012 when the Meadowbrook estate in Glanmire, County Cork, was badly flooded and some houses were under between 4 ft and 5 ft of water, with extensive damage done. The estate is alongside the Glashaboy River and it was decided there was a need for a flood relief scheme. A lot of work was...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Flood Relief Schemes Status (24 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State and appreciate the comprehensive reply he has given. He outlined the historical background and the work which has been done and which needs to be done. My only issue is that the residents want action. The more the Minister of State can do to bring forward the tendering process and the commencement of the works the better, and it would be very much appreciated....

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: When my colleague raised the issue of driverless cars I was wondering whether the cars will be geared to avoid the potholes.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: It will be an interesting challenge. I want to raise an issue which the Leader touched on yesterday, namely, apprenticeships and the demand there will be in the building industry over the coming months. I have met with members of the construction industry over recent weeks and they are very concerned about the shortage of trained people in a whole range of areas, from electricians to...

Seanad: Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture: Statements (24 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House.

Seanad: Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture: Statements (24 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House and wish her well in her new portfolio. These are challenging times in the area of arts and culture. I am speaking on this matter because I was chairperson in 2003 and 2004 of the board that made the bid for Cork to be the European city of culture in 2005. It is important to learn from that experience and I would urge the Minister to speak to some of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Implications for Health Sector of United Kingdom's Withdrawal from the EU (Resumed): Department of Health (24 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: I thank Mr. O'Connor for his comprehensive presentation. On the cross-border health care directive, the figures show that something like 86% of those reimbursed were treated in the UK. The UK health system is facing a lot of challenges at the moment. There has been a huge reduction in the number of nurses coming into the system since the vote on Brexit. Is it possible that, should the UK...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Implications for Health Sector of United Kingdom's Withdrawal from the EU (Resumed): Department of Health (24 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: Has there been any engagement with the various royal institutes? They are very much based in the UK, and I just wonder whether-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Implications for Health Sector of United Kingdom's Withdrawal from the EU (Resumed): Department of Health (24 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: I refer to cross-border health care and the issue of direct connections with, for example, the Swedish, German, Dutch or Belgian health authorities. Are we progressing this, in particular in respect of Sweden and Germany? There is much more sub-specialisation there in what we could only dream about here. Have we made that connection and are we continuing to grow it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Implications for Health Sector of United Kingdom's Withdrawal from the EU (Resumed): Department of Health (24 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: As no one else wishes to raise an issue, I will take it that we are concluding. I thank the staff from the Department of Health for a comprehensive review of this important issue. Every committee member appreciates their work in this regard. It is work that is not seen because it is happening behind the scenes, yet it is of fundamental importance to our country. We face major challenges...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: I refer to the health service and note that the Minister for Health today presented the bed capacity review to the Cabinet. It is extremely important that there has been a full review and that the agreed number of new beds that are considered to be necessary be opened to deal with the challenges health services face. In opening new beds there is also the challenge of making sure wards will...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: If one goes back five or six years, one will find that clear targets for the creation of jobs were set out by the Government. People were very sceptical that those targets could be achieved. It is interesting that the CSO publication in recent days gave the figures for the third quarter of 2017, which show that there are now 2.2 million people at work. That is an increase of 48,000 year on...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: On a point of order, people are living 2.5 years longer now than they were in 2000 so in fairness-----

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: It is information.