Results 8,781-8,800 of 11,246 for speaker:Colm Burke

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.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: General Scheme of the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill 2017: Discussion (17 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: I thank the Department's representatives for their presentation and for the work they have done in this area. I welcome them to the meeting. It is just information that I am looking for really in the context of the point that, with regard to treatment, there were approximately 9,000 cycles in 2016. That was within Ireland. There are also huge numbers of people who travel abroad for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: General Scheme of the Assisted Human Reproduction Bill 2017: Discussion (17 Jan 2018)

Colm Burke: I have a question on the surrogacy issue. Different countries have different regulations. There is not any proposal at this stage, from a European point of view, to have a common set of rules across Europe. Are there any discussions at European level on that issue? It refers back to my earlier question about people travelling abroad. The number of people travelling abroad is far higher...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Dec 2017)

Colm Burke: I thank all the staff and all those who work in the background in this House for their help and support throughout the past 12 months. I thank all my colleagues for their help and support as well, in particular, the Leader, and I wish him well in his forthcoming marriage. I wish him every happiness into the future. Normally, when people get married they move house. Can I just advise him...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Dec 2017)

Colm Burke: -----but there are plenty down in Cork South-Central, just in case people were concerned that he is moving constituency. I fully agree with the comments made by Senator Ruane and the matter to which she referred. Over the past 30 or 35 years we have made little progress in bringing about a downward trend. I refer to the way areas like this are managed. There has been a number of good...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Hospital Consultants Contract: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Colm Burke: For monitoring to work there must be continuity within the management system. In my experience, the management system in the HSE is akin to a revolving door. I have spoken previously about a particular hospital in which there have been ten managers over a period of 18 years. When a manager becomes aware of a practice that is not appropriate and he or she moves to another job, it becomes...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Hospital Consultants Contract: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Colm Burke: We will allow the replies and then Deputy Bernard J. Durkan might want to come back in.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Hospital Consultants Contract: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Colm Burke: I will allow Ms Cody in first before supplementary questions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Hospital Consultants Contract: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Colm Burke: Deputy Maurice Quinlivan also wishes to raise a supplementary question. Will the witnesses outline the contract obligations? Under the old contract it is 33 hours in addition to on-call hours. What is the on-call issue? It is an issue that is not out there in the public domain. I am just wondering what that issue is.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Hospital Consultants Contract: Discussion (13 Dec 2017)

Colm Burke: I thank everyone for his or her contribution. I thank the representatives of the HSE and the Department of Health for the work they are doing. I thank the delegates from Limerick for the work they are doing. We are facing into a difficult time over the next few months. Normally in the winter period there is more demand on the health service. I thank the witnesses and ask them to convey...