Results 9,981-10,000 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: Eye Care: Motion (16 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: As Fine Gael spokesperson on health in the Seanad, I welcome the Minister to the House and wish him every success in his new role. He will be determined to continue the reform that has been ongoing over the last three years. That reform will bring about a more efficient health service while ensuring that the services that are required will be available to those who need them. I thank...

Seanad: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State and wish her well in her continuing role in the Department of Health. The Minister of State is from my constituency and it is great that she is continuing in that role because the work she has done in the past three years has been extremely progressive and reforming. I hope that will continue. I also join with colleagues in wishing the former Minister for...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: In response to Senator Marc MacSharry, it is important to realise 2,600 organisations are receiving funding from the HSE's budget. Their allocations account for 25% of the budget. Some €3.27 billion is being paid out to them. It is in this context that we should be considering the matter. I agree with the views of Senators Marc MacSharry and Jillian van Turnhout on the way in which...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: It is important to clarify what happened in the vote last week. I respect the democratic decision taken, but it is important to realise what was published was a draft contract. What was published was not written in stone.

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: I did not interfere with the Senator. The IMO would not enter into negotiations because it was awaiting the outcome of High Court proceedings with the Competition Authority. The proceedings have been resolved and there are ongoing discussions with the Department. I do not like to be accused of voting for a gagging clause. I did not vote for such a clause. The draft contract has not been...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Minister for Health (10 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: I seek clarification. On the €80 million in the first four months, is Mr. Mulvany saying that €26 million of that is for agency staff or is he saying it is €60 million?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Minister for Health (10 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: For the entire year, what is the total agency budget? I accept Mr. Mulvany cannot give me the exact figure, but I seek an estimate.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Minister for Health (10 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: We cannot.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Minister for Health (10 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: We cannot because of the shortage of junior doctors.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Minister for Health (10 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: The question I asked pertained to internal advertising. My understanding is not even internal advertising is happening in respect of posts that are being temporarily filled at present. I have been so informed by hospital staff working on the front line - I am talking about junior doctors who go through an interview process every six or 12 months but who find they are dealing with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Minister for Health (10 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: I wish to follow up on the question posed by Deputy Ó Caoláin but I will not go into too much detail. In the context of report on the West-North West Hospitals Group and the breaches that occurred, were full fees paid to the company in respect of the work carried out? Question No. 22 in my name relates to the filling of posts in the HSE without their being advertised internally...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Pharmacy Services (9 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister for the comprehensive reply. The reply deals with the obligation on pharmacists to discuss the medication when a person calls to collect the medication. There is no obligation under the present procedure for the pharmacist to provide a follow-up service. That is what the pharmacists' union is saying. It is saying pharmacists can play a very important part in making...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Pharmacy Services (9 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister. The matter I seek to raise is a follow-up to a presentation made by the Irish Pharmacy Union at a recent meeting of the joint committee. It concerns a new medicine service. This applies to people who have a long-term illness but have been prescribed a particular new medication. It has found that people who experience complications are reluctant to go back to their...

Seanad: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (9 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: Senator Healy Eames mentioned the Competition Authority. The Irish Medical Organisation was involved with proceedings with the Competition Authority and that agreement is in the public domain. It relates to the way in which the IMO can work in future, and the agreement is in the public domain because it was the subject of High Court proceedings. The Minister has clarified that there is...

Seanad: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (9 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: That is not true.

Seanad: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (9 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for the work that he has done. I note there will be some changes but, in fairness, all of the Ministers at the Department of Health, Deputies Reilly, White and Kathleen Lynch, have been extremely innovative and hardworking in dealing with the Department over the past few years. There is a lot of work done, but a lot of work still to...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: In regard to an issue of importance for members of the Joint Committee on Health and Children, I ask the Leader if he can bring the Chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts into this House. The Committee of Public Accounts has written to the Joint Committee on Health and Children to tell us we cannot deal with any of the organisations that are funded by the HSE. Approximately 25% of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Italian Presidency of Council of European Union: Italian Ambassador (8 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: I apologise for my late arrival which is due to a number of votes in the Seanad. I welcome the ambassador and wish the Italian Presidency every success in the next six months. The issue I wish to raise is mentioned in the ambassador's submission, that is, health care and health research. He referred to the Dublin declaration of ten years ago on the issue of a joint approach in dealing...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (8 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome the election of Joan Burton as leader of the Labour Party. The past three years has been a very difficult time to manage the budget. We pay out more than €400 million a week in social welfare week or €57 million per day. That is a huge budget which has been well managed for the past three years, and an area that the Minister tackled very well was fraud. Yesterday a...

Seanad: Health Service Executive (Financial Matters) Bill 2013: Second Stage (3 Jul 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House. This Bill is another step in the reform programme, as the Minister has outlined. It clearly sets out the manner in which we are bringing the budget back under the control of the Department of Health under the Minister. This is the right decision in moving forward in how we manage our health service. In view of what has occurred in the health service...