Results 9,361-9,380 of 11,246 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: The Fine Gael group is supporting the Minister and will not support the amendments. It is important we debate the matter but that these things are taken into account in future legislation.

Seanad: Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: I also commend the Minister of State on her contribution, but I advise my colleagues that there is a legal aspect to the issue as well in terms of the interpretation the courts can give. The amendments tabled will cause problems in terms of taking action against any pusher if the amendments, as tabled, are adopted. I am coming purely from a legal perspective. If accepted, the amendments...

Seanad: Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: Tomorrow.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: I join with colleagues in congratulating the Irish team and all the people involved in its performance in the championship. They did the country proud, as did the supporters in the way they behaved, in that they put forward a very positive message for Ireland. An issue that is coming up more and more in rural areas is that community groups and sporting organisations require people to work...

Seanad: United Kingdom Referendum on European Union Membership: Statements (28 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister for giving of his time today to debate this important matter. One of the views that has been expressed is that England did not plan for this decision, which may be a misreading of the facts. There has been some work done in the UK with regard to how it would manage this exit. I have in my possession a report from the House of Lords which was sent for printing on 28...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Care of the Elderly (23 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State and thank her for taking this matter which concerns long-term planning. The Minister has set out clearly the need for a ten-year strategy on palliative care. However, we need to consider the HSE's 2015 annual report and the emphasis placed in it on the need for urgency in dealing with demographic influences. Let us consider the figures. In this regard, the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Care of the Elderly (23 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: I have a question on home care. One of the big problems in rural areas is finding suitably qualified people to look after elderly people. Can we develop a new initiative in that area? It is now a fundamental issue. I am dealing with a case where someone is on dialysis three days a week and is living in a rural area. That person needs that additional support but in a rural area it is...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: I, too, congratulate both Irish teams. It is a great achievement for the Irish soccer team to reach the final 16 of Euro 2016. I say "Well done" to everyone concerned, the management, players and their back-up support. I wish to refer to an important Supreme Court decision that was issued in the past few days as it concerns checks and balances. I advise everyone to read the decision. I...

Seanad: Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2016: Order for Second Stage (23 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: I move: "That Second Stage be taken today."

Seanad: Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (23 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State. I congratulate her on her appointment and wish her every success in her new role.I welcome the Bill. Earlier, on the Order of Business, I referred to the Supreme Court judgment which set aside the Court of Criminal Appeal judgment. The reason I referred to that matter was the delegation of powers in respect of bringing in regulations or statutory...

Seanad: Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (23 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: At 2.30 p.m. next Tuesday.

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: I wish to raise the issue of obesity, on which matter there has been much discussion. Someone approached me recently with a concern about vending machines in hospitals. In one case, the machine was within a short distance of a children's unit. Available in it were all sorts of chocolates, sweets, etc. The message on obesity that we hope to send, in health care facilities in particular, is...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: Senator Leyden raised the important issue of increased insurance costs, but he did not refer to the profits of insurance companies. We got rid of the jury system for deciding on the level of damages a number of years ago because we thought such a move would lead to cheaper insurance. We then set up the Personal Injuries Assessment Board because we thought it would result in cuts in legal...

Seanad: Health: Statements (21 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House. I am delighted that he is here with us dealing with the health programme, in particular the need for a ten-year development plan for health. It is extremely important. One of the things that concerns me regarding the whole health care area is why every issue that comes up in the media seems to be very negative in its content, whereas there are a lot of...

Seanad: Health: Statements (21 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: As Senators know, this is carers' week. A very important contribution to care is the assistance provided by the private nursing sector. Nursing Homes Ireland made a presentation yesterday. Unproductive meetings are one of the issues that the organisation has raised with me, which I am sure it has raised with other Oireachtas Members. When its members meet the Department of Health to...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: I congratulate the Cathaoirleach, both as a colleague from the legal profession and as a person from Cork, and wish him every success in his new role as Cathaoirleach. I compliment him also on his role as Leas-Chathaoirleach in the last Seanad. He was always fair to everybody in every debate. I congratulate also another colleague from Cork, Senator Jerry Buttimer, and wish him well in his...

Seanad: Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998: Motion (15 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and wish him every success in his new role in the Department of Justice and Equality. I think it is his first occasion in here as Minister of State. I welcome the motions, which have my full support. It is important that we give the necessary support to the gardaí, who are working at the coal face. History has shown that unless that...

Seanad: Poverty and Homelessness: Motion (15 Jun 2016)

Colm Burke: I welcome this debate. It is important that we look at where we are in respect of housing. Yes, we have problems and there are many measures that can be taken immediately to resolve some of them. I will give the Minister a simple example that relates to downsizing. Quite a number of my constituents who occupy three or four-bedroom houses have told me that they have been contacting their...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Feb 2016)

Colm Burke: From one Burke to another, I thank the Cathaoirleach for the way in which he has managed the affairs of the House in the past five years. I thank the group leaders, in particular ours, who is the Leader of the House, for the manner in which they worked together to try to effect change. I pay tribute to the staff for their dedication and commitment in the past five years to assisting Members...