Results 9,421-9,440 of 11,246 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2015)

Colm Burke: He is not moving it.

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2015: Second Stage (3 Dec 2015)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House and welcome this legislation. It is legislation that must be introduced annually. The Bill makes proposals for 2016. It is welcome that we have risk equalisation in order that people will not be penalised as they get older.We have a huge and increasingly older population and it is important that they have access to health care and health care insurance...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2015: Second Stage (3 Dec 2015)

Colm Burke: Next Tuesday.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: General Practitioner Contracts (2 Dec 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, for making time available to deal with this matter, which relates to the new contract for GPs. It is an urgent matter in that many GPs are under pressure. Things have changed quite substantially during the past four to five years. While GPs have been able to carry them for the last four to five years, the additional costs they have...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: General Practitioner Contracts (2 Dec 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for the comprehensive reply. I know the negotiations are ongoing and I understand progress is being made. Do we have any guideline on whether any aspect of the contract can be concluded? I do not want to tie down the Minister of State on this. I suppose the big problem is that GPs are dealing with such uncertainty at the moment. Is there any way that a...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: General Practitioner Contracts (2 Dec 2015)

Colm Burke: I appreciate what the Minister of State has said.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: HIV Incidence in Ireland: Discussion (1 Dec 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the witnesses for their presentations and the work they are doing in this area. Many welcome changes have occurred over the past 15 or 20 years. The average age of HIV diagnosis fell from 37 years in 2005 to 31 in 2014. Has a generation missed getting the information, or have the witnesses carried out any studies to identify why this has arisen? If the average age is 31, there...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: HIV Incidence in Ireland: Discussion (1 Dec 2015)

Colm Burke: No.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Local Authority Funding (1 Dec 2015)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ann Phelan, to the House and thank her for dealing with this matter. I am raising it in view of the fact that there has been a quite substantial delay in getting work done, particularly in Cork City Council. On the one hand, there are people saying they are not getting funding and, on the other, there are people saying that when they get it, there is...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Local Authority Funding (1 Dec 2015)

Colm Burke: My question asked for details of what funding was allocated but there were no such details in the Minister of State's reply, with which I am disappointed. My understanding is that €10 million was allocated to one project but €4.5 million was returned to the Department, something to which the Minister did not refer in her reply. I asked her to publish details of all housing...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Local Authority Funding (1 Dec 2015)

Colm Burke: I am sorry but the Department should be able to give me figures for what is allocated to a local authority.I want to know what funding is allocated to local authorities, because we have been told that insufficient funding has been given.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Local Authority Funding (1 Dec 2015)

Colm Burke: We need specific figures and I am entitled to them.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Local Authority Funding (1 Dec 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Dec 2015)

Colm Burke: Today, 1 December, is World AIDS Day. It is important that we highlight the issue of AIDS. The average number of people to contract AIDS annually in this country is 350. To date in 2015, however, there seems to have been an increase. One factor is that there are better tests available and more people are aware of the syndrome. The population, especially young people, needs to be aware of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Work Programme 2016: European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development (26 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: I am delighted to see the Commissioner and Mr. Keary before the committee. I was involved in training the Commissioner when he was in UCC, and Mr. Keary worked as one of my research assistants when I was at the European Parliament. I am delighted to see both of them doing so well.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Work Programme 2016: European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development (26 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: In fairness, I trained him them well. The programme includes an initiative on a new start for working parents. It relates to parents who are self-employed. Our system does not appear to assist people who are self-employed, including in the case of maternity benefit. This needs to be examined throughout Europe. For example, if a woman has a baby before 1 April, she is entitled to claim...

Seanad: Emergency Department Waiting Times: Statements (26 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for his statement. I remind my opponent that the health budget in 1997 was €3 billion. By 2007, it was €15 billion but there was not a five fold increase in the services available. There was very little change in that ten-year time period. Since we have come into office and over the past few months in particular, the waiting...

Seanad: Emergency Department Waiting Times: Statements (26 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: My understanding is the Minister has prior commitments and, unfortunately, cannot stay longer than the time allocated. I do not think we can extend the time at this stage. I am sorry and I would like to accommodate my colleagues but the Minister has a prior commitment.

Seanad: Emergency Department Waiting Times: Statements (26 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: In fairness, the Minister needs an opportunity to reply. I would have no problem with the speakers having something like three minutes. That would allow time the Minister to reply. In fairness, the Minister needs five minutes to reply.

Seanad: Emergency Department Waiting Times: Statements (26 Nov 2015)

Colm Burke: I propose that we extend the debate to 6 p.m. but the Minister should be allowed five minutes to reply.