Results 9,901-9,920 of 11,246 for speaker:Colm Burke

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Update on Child Protection Services: Discussion (4 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: I apologise for being late but I had to attend a health debate in the Seanad for the past two and half hours which included the Minister's responses to questions. I have a question on Dr. Coulter's report on records and refer to paragraph 19 which states: "The Courts Service has no national template for recording applications, and there may be double counting". Has there been any...

Seanad: Health Services: Statements (4 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister for a comprehensive statement on the programme for 2015. There are many challenges but it is important to state that both the Department and the Health Service Executive are facing up to those challenges. It is important to note that funding of over €13 billion is being put into this budget but that funding does not belong to the Government. It belongs to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (23 Oct 2014)

Colm Burke: There are deficiencies in hospital services relating to junior doctors and consultants, and we must quickly identify the location of the shortfall. We are sweeping this issue under the carpet and it must be addressed.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (23 Oct 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank everyone for attending this morning. My question 20 was specifically on consultant vacancies and I was astonished by the reply I received in that the information has not been given to me. I do not accept that the information is not available. We are talking about 41 hospitals. If I got the name of a porter in each of the hospitals, I have no doubt they would be able to give me the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Business of Joint Committee (23 Oct 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank Paul for all the work he has done. Organising all the witnesses for the public hearings was not an easy task. He did the work very efficiently. The public hearings were very balanced as the views of everyone directly or indirectly involved were presented. I thank Paul and all the staff, but particularly Paul, for their contribution. I wish him well in his new role. I welcome...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Mental Health Services: Mental Health Reform (23 Oct 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank Dr. McDaid for the comprehensive presentation. In fairness, it outlines the positives and where there is a need for action. With regard to staff shortages, the witness indicates that over 12,000 people are required. Will she indicate where is the shortfall between the 9,000 people and the 12,482 people? Per head of population, is the 12,482 figure comparable with what is available...

Seanad: Immigration (Reform) (Regularisation of Residency Status) Bill 2014: Second Stage [Private Members] (22 Oct 2014)

Colm Burke: In fairness, we have made a number of changes and have committed to making further changes and ensuring they are properly implemented. Since November 2013, we have transferred responsibility for processing applications to the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, ORAC. New arrangements have been made to include an interview of applicants, an appeal mechanism has been introduced,...

Seanad: Immigration (Reform) (Regularisation of Residency Status) Bill 2014: Second Stage [Private Members] (22 Oct 2014)

Colm Burke: The commitment is by Easter 2015.

Seanad: Immigration (Reform) (Regularisation of Residency Status) Bill 2014: Second Stage [Private Members] (22 Oct 2014)

Colm Burke: Let us look at the issues carefully and ensure the Bill is carefully planned in a constructive manner so that we have a comprehensive scheme in place in the future to deal with this issue. Members who have been involved in debate on direct provision and in highlighting the deficiencies in the system have brought this issue forward and I welcome that. However, it is also important that we...

Seanad: Immigration (Reform) (Regularisation of Residency Status) Bill 2014: Second Stage [Private Members] (22 Oct 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister. I thank the proposers and seconders of this Bill for bringing it forward. I know there is a lot of work involved in preparing any Bill and explanatory memorandum, and I want to pay tribute to them for doing this. I know both the proposer and seconder are very passionate about this matter and they are using this forum to raise it and to bring forward a debate, which...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Oct 2014)

Colm Burke: I am concerned about a letter issued by the human resources section of the Health Service Executive, HSE, to all hospitals advising them that an agency doctor can only be employed for a period of two months in a hospital. There is a huge problem because this year over €250 million will be spent on agency staff in hospitals, many of whom are junior doctors. In many smaller hospitals...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Mid-term Review of Europe 2020 Strategy: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Oct 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank all of the witnesses for their comprehensive presentations and the work they are doing in this area. I have a question in regard to the presentation by Councillor Richmond on the lack of engagement. He said there needs to be a greater effort to reach out to potential stakeholders and to construct a municipal engagement with stakeholders in order for the strategy to flourish. What...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Preparedness for Ebola Virus in Ireland: Discussion (16 Oct 2014)

Colm Burke: We have focused on Irish people travelling abroad. What about the scenario of non-Irish doctors coming here to work? Have we put new protocols in place to deal with the issue? It is a fairly remote scenario but we need to keep it in mind. On the first day or first week of January, new people could come in from abroad. New protocols must be put in place to ensure we have all the checks in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Preparedness for Ebola Virus in Ireland: Discussion (16 Oct 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister for his presentation this morning. I wish to raise three issues. One relates to people returning home from countries that are affected. Is the Minister satisfied that proper protocols are in place for monitoring and dealing with those people when they return home? I refer in particular to perhaps three weeks before the symptoms are identified. What protocols are in...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Concussion in Sport (15 Oct 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. I accept that Departments are working together on this matter but in fairness to those who made submissions to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children, they pointed out that this is not just an issue for schools but also for all of the sporting organisations. We must make sure that there is one set of rules across the...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Concussion in Sport (15 Oct 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The matter I raise is a follow-up to a presentation to the Joint Committee on Health last week. The GAA made a submission calling for the establishment of a task force on concussion injury comprising representatives of sports organisations, sports medicine bodies and primary and post-primary schools. The main focus of the task force should be...

Seanad: Joint Policing Committees: Motion (15 Oct 2014)

Colm Burke: I apologise for the confusion. I had intended to second the motion but I was not aware that the time of the debate was changed from a start time of 5 p.m. to 3.50 p.m. That was my mistake. I welcome the Minister. I thank Senator Conway for bringing forward this motion, which I welcome. The prevention of crime is not the sole responsibility of the Garda. We all have a part to play. The...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Oct 2014)

Colm Burke: I would like to highlight one tax change. One of the messages that has been lost in the budget is that we are competing internationally for highly skilled people, especially in the health sector. We have great difficulty retaining people in this sector and, therefore, the tax changes in the budget are welcome. Many qualified medical professionals are emigrating to Canada, the US, New...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Oct 2014)

Colm Burke: I join in welcoming Senator Craughwell to the House. Having looked at his CV, I know that he has a major contribution to make to this House and I look forward to listening to him and to taking on board the issues that he wants to deal with in education. He did a very good job in his previous role in the educational sector. I will now raise an issue on the budget. It is interesting that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Concussion in Sport: Discussion (Resumed) (9 Oct 2014)

Colm Burke: I am sorry to come back on the task force issue, but in fairness, witnesses came in this morning with a very structured set of recommendations. One of the important things about meetings and public hearings such as this is to ensure we get something out of them and follow through. I accept fully that a great deal of work has been done by both the Department of Education and Skills and the...