Results 8,981-9,000 of 11,246 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: Home Care Services: Motion (28 Jun 2017)

Colm Burke: Next Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jun 2017)

Colm Burke: I, too, want to raise the issue of elderly care. We often apply rules and regulations without compassion. I believe that has occurred in this case. This needs to be resolved as a matter or urgency, particularly in the case of this couple who are married and have lived together for over 63 years and, owing to the manner in which regulations are being implemented, are not now to be...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospital Consultant Recruitment (22 Jun 2017)

Colm Burke: I wish to raise the issue of hospital consultant post vacancies that currently exist in hospitals. It is my understanding, from the information I have received, that there are some 400 vacancies for consultant posts. As the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Bruton, will remember, in 2011-12 there was a cut in consultant salaries of up to 30%. That has not changed because it was a...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospital Consultant Recruitment (22 Jun 2017)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister. I am afraid I do not necessarily agree with the contents of the reply. The information that I have is that we still have a major problem in that the number of people applying for posts is drastically reduced, and the number of posts advertised which attracted no applicants. I have been consistently looking for exact details of vacancies in hospitals since 2012. I got...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Jun 2017)

Colm Burke: I wish to raise the issue of orphan drugs and rare diseases. Approximately 370,000 people in Ireland are affected one way or another by rare diseases but only 5% have a licensed treatment option. Our main problem relates to orphan drugs, namely, drugs that are made available, are still being worked on and are expensive to develop. Of the 148 orphan drugs available to people with rare...

Seanad: Recognition of Irish Sign Language for the Deaf Community Bill 2016: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2017)

Colm Burke: In fairness, the Minister of State has outlined where he is coming from within the Government and his Department, and that is about the visibility and making sure that what is passed in the House can be implemented in full within a timeframe. The Minister of State has outlined the three key issues that he wants to move forward with. With regard to the whole sign language area we need to set...

Seanad: Recognition of Irish Sign Language for the Deaf Community Bill 2016: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2017)

Colm Burke: I agree with the Minister of State in the sense that, if we want to progress this matter for everyone's benefit, it is important that we work together instead of trying to score political points. Long before Deputy Finian McGrath became a Minister of State, he was to the fore in highlighting disability issues.

Seanad: Recognition of Irish Sign Language for the Deaf Community Bill 2016: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2017)

Colm Burke: Senator Mark Daly's party was in power for 14 years-----

Seanad: Recognition of Irish Sign Language for the Deaf Community Bill 2016: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2017)

Colm Burke: -----and not a thing was done about this. I would say on this matter-----

Seanad: Recognition of Irish Sign Language for the Deaf Community Bill 2016: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2017)

Colm Burke: In fairness to the Minister of State and all parties in government, we want to progress this matter and deliver on every aspect that is passed by the House. It is important that we progress this issue, give ISL recognition,-----

Seanad: Recognition of Irish Sign Language for the Deaf Community Bill 2016: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2017)

Colm Burke: -----give it the legal status that it deserves and provide backup services. That is exactly what the Minister of State and the Department want to do.

Seanad: Recognition of Irish Sign Language for the Deaf Community Bill 2016: Committee Stage (21 Jun 2017)

Colm Burke: Senator Conway mentioned Dublin Bus. Paragraph (g) of amendment No. 3 reads: "a company (within the meaning of the Companies Acts) a majority of the shares in which are held by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government." Therefore, a public body would mean that that is covered by the section.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Jun 2017)

Colm Burke: It was interesting to hear the comments made on the appointment of the former Attorney General. It is important to note that 16 of the 29 Attorneys General of Ireland have been appointed to the High Court. A number of others were appointed to positions at European level. I refer to Mr. Peter Sutherland SC and Mr. Justice John Murray. In fairness to Ms Máire Whelan, there is no...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Jun 2017)

Colm Burke: I would like to join my colleagues in paying tribute to the outgoing Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny. He did an outstanding job as leader of Fine Gael, as a Deputy and as Taoiseach of this country. He did a number of outstanding things. When he came into office, he provided leadership and made sure that the entire Cabinet and Government were motivated to deliver. Putting in place the right...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Cancer Registry Board: Chairperson Designate (31 May 2017)

Colm Burke: I thank Dr. Coffey for his presentation. I read through his CV and it is extremely impressive. I thank him for all the work he has done to date. On providing services for those who have cancer, we are experiencing many difficulties in recruiting consultants in particular, as well as junior doctors and nurses. Are we facing the same problem in cancer treatment and providing services for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Treatment Purchase Fund: Chairperson Designate (31 May 2017)

Colm Burke: I wish Mr. Horan well in his new role and thank him for his work to date in all of the organisations in which he has been involved. He referred to the nursing homes support scheme. I have the terms of reference for the review of the system for setting nursing homes prices which is due for completion by 1 June. In recent weeks I have received correspondence from a number of nursing homes in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Treatment Purchase Fund: Chairperson Designate (31 May 2017)

Colm Burke: Can I get clarification on the review? Early June was set as a time for the review on the nursing home issue. I do not want to tie the witness to time now but are we talking about four weeks, eight weeks or 12 weeks?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Treatment Purchase Fund: Chairperson Designate (31 May 2017)

Colm Burke: Months rather than weeks?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Treatment Purchase Fund: Chairperson Designate (31 May 2017)

Colm Burke: The second issue I want to come back on is-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: National Treatment Purchase Fund: Chairperson Designate (31 May 2017)

Colm Burke: The second question I want to come back on concerns what Deputy Louise O'Reilly said about the delay in getting people out of hospitals and into nursing homes. This is not a problem caused by the nursing homes. When there was a huge problem with many people in beds waiting to be discharged, for example, nursing homes had over 750 vacant beds at the time. There seems to have been very...