Results 9,661-9,680 of 11,246 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Apr 2015)

Colm Burke: I wish to raise the issue of the housing budget. I welcome the announcement that in Cork city and county over €205 million has been allocated for the period 2015-17. It is very welcome that an extra 2,500 houses or apartments will be built and made available. However, I have concerns about the ability of local authorities to be able to respond to the funding. My concern arises with...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Nursing Staff Recruitment (31 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister for coming into the House to deal with this matter. The issue I raise concerns the training courses available for nurses who have trained abroad but who now wish to return here. I am led to believe that the number of courses available in recent years has been cut back and that the number available is inadequate. Currently, Irish nursing homes have over 500 vacancies...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Nursing Staff Recruitment (31 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: I am aware of that. The issue that must be dealt with is increasing the number of places on the adaption courses for nurses who have trained abroad but who wish to work here to allow them go through the training process and then become available to work in Irish hospitals and nursing homes. The other issue facing nursing homes is that many of the nurses working in them are taking on jobs in...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Nursing Staff Recruitment (31 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister for the reply. I note there is an acceptance that there is a need for additional training positions. It is a major problem within nursing homes. It is also a major problem within hospitals. Some Irish nurses contacted me recently who trained in the United Kingdom and who returned to Ireland. They applied in early December to register but ten weeks later they were...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Nursing Staff Recruitment (31 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: I appreciate the Minister's response.

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: There has been a matter in the newspapers in the past few days, with pharmaceutical industries claiming 500 job losses because of Government policy on reducing the cost of drugs. It is important that we provide the right information, that in 2000 the cost of pharmaceuticals to the health boards was €570 million and that by 2008 and 2009 it had increased to over €2 billion. We...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: I wish to raise the issue of how in real terms, very little reform has occurred in the health service. One subject I raised during a Commencement matter this week was the issue of nurse prescribing, particularly in nursing homes. There still is a huge problem, in that nurses have the qualification and are competent to take on many of the roles on which the sign-off of a doctor previously...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Drug Addiction and Recovery Models: Discussion (26 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: I apologise for not being present for the entire briefing. I had to deal with a matter in the Seanad. The delegates have much experience in the dos and don'ts based on what has happened during the years in Dublin. In Cork there has been a major increase in heroin use. What should we do, or not do, in areas outside Dublin, particularly in Cork, to deal with the issue, given the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: General Scheme of Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (26 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank each of the delegates for their comprehensive and constructive presentations. Has the Department given a logical reason as to why it will not implement section 9 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2008? If the terms of section 9 were to be implemented, what period would be envisaged to allow outlets carry out the necessary changes? Would it be proposed to allow them three, six or 12...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: General Scheme of Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (26 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: With respect to the claims of decreasing levels of alcohol consumption, in the case of young people, the level has gone up, particularly of spirits. I have seen this in colleges, in particular. In the first eight weeks after colleges return after the summer, there is a major increase in the drinking culture, particularly in the case of first-year students. There has been a switch to...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Community Care (25 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh. The matter before the House this morning relates to the need for community intervention teams in each area. The reason I raise the issue on the Commencement debate is the need for the health service to reduce the number of people admitted to hospital, particularly from nursing homes. I understand Nursing Homes Ireland has had detailed...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Community Care (25 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for his detailed reply, which I welcome. Approximately 14,000 patients were treated by community intervention teams in 2014. That is a very small number in comparison to the number that could be treated. I know the area does not come within the responsibility of the Minister of State, but could he convey to the relevant Minister the need to expedite the...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: I, too, welcome the announcement yesterday by the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, on children with Down's syndrome. It is something that is long overdue. It is a matter on which the association has canvassed and lobbied over a number of years. It is money that will be well spent in catering for those children. In the context of children, I am somewhat concerned...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: That is something which must be expedited and addressed.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: We cannot ignore the HIQA report. I would welcome a statement from the Minister in that regard and to ensure that a timeline is put in place for when the recruitment will be completed in order that the existing 1,000 referrals can be addressed. In fairness to Tusla, it has outlined that priority cases are being addressed, in the sense that the children most at risk are dealt with...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: The failures happened when the Senator's party was in office.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: From 2002 to 2010, Fianna Fáil did nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: If the report is true he does not want to hear it.

Seanad: An Bille um an gCeathrú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Comhionannas Pósta) 2015: An Dara Céim - Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015: Second Stage (25 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister and thank her for a very comprehensive overview on this amendment of the Constitution. No constitution is written in stone and it is important that we start from there. This is the 34th amendment of the Constitution. There has been a very small number of amendments when one thinks of the lifetime of this Constitution. As my colleague, Senator Byrne, said, society...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: General Scheme of Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Mar 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the delegates for their presentations. I refer to a paragraph in the presentation made by Mr. White on codes of practice. It reads:The RRAI has consistently supported the replacement of the existing voluntary code of practice in mixed trading premises with a statutory code with strengthened provisions on the display and sale of alcohol in mixed trade stores. Will he outline what is...