Results 10,201-10,220 of 11,702 for speaker:Colm Burke

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Children and Youth Issues: Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (19 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: Nine of the children this year have sat the junior certificate and two sat the leaving certificate applied. That was because of one-to-one education being provided on a voluntary basis by people up there, people who are either studying for their higher diploma or are retired teachers. They are doing the work.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: VHI: Chairman Designate (19 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: Mr. Downey is welcome. I apologies for being late, I was in the Seanad dealing with a health issue. I have read Mr. Downey's presentation, in which he refers to 29 areas in which the VHI has changed the cover it provides from inpatient to outpatient. This is something I have raised on a number of occasions over the last three or four years. Is this process going to continue and does Mr....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: VHI: Chairman Designate (19 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: Thank you.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: I agree with my colleague Senator Mooney about IBEC and the US Chamber of Commerce. My message to IBEC is clear. We are spending €260 million a week in health care in this country. That budget will continue to increase because of the requirement for us to deal with the issues that arise as a result of people smoking. If they want to increase taxation, let them come out and state...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (12 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the witnesses for responding to question No. 24. It is the same question that I submitted last September and it is unfortunate that it took six months to get the information I wanted on consultant vacancies. It appears that there are 325 vacancies in real terms. My question relates to subsection (f) of my question which is about the number of retirements expected in 2015. Again,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (12 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: My apologies. Has a review been carried out in respect of those appointments? The HIQA report on the ambulance service clearly identified that a number of staff appointed did not feel they had the skills to do the job. I do not accept the reply here that 1,527 people were appointed without interview, and that none of them has been identified as not having the skills. I ask that we get a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (12 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: My question is on the HSE appointment of locums. It goes to the issue of a number of investigations which are under way. If someone is working in a hospital as a locum and an error is made, nothing prevents that person from being re-employed in another hospital. There is no mechanism to record issues. There is an issue arising where a hospital is short a doctor on a Friday, for example,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Discussion (12 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: I raised a question about the case of a non-consultant hospital doctor moving from hospital to hospital. For example, one week one could be working in Dublin and then working as a locum in Cork the following week. Errors could be made but no records might be kept to ensure the same person is not put into a locum position at the last minute in another hospital. What is done in this regard?

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2014: Second Stage (11 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: Tuesday next.

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2014: Second Stage (11 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for a very comprehensive overview of this Bill. I welcome the Bill. The Minister for Justice and Equality and the Minister of State are bringing forward necessary legislation. This Bill deals with the defects in the system. It gives wider powers to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman, which is welcome. I welcome the extension...

Seanad: Business of Seanad (11 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: Is it a case of resubmitting the motion on another day?

Seanad: Business of Seanad (11 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: I am concerned because this matter has been ongoing for seven years and I find I am going from a Minister to a local authority and from a local authority to a Minister. I have a family with a child who has a physical and intellectual disability where urgent work needs to be done on the house for it to be adapted and I am not getting answers. This has been ongoing for over six months and I...

Seanad: Business of Seanad (11 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: I will resubmit it on Tuesday. That is appreciated and I thank the Cathaoirleach.

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: I will follow up Senator Whelan's comments and there was a welcome development yesterday on the matter. The Senator is correct in that the cost went from €560 million or €570 million in 2000 to more than €2 billion by 2010. The good news comes from more recent figures. In the past year or perhaps 2013 - I an awaiting clarification on that - the cost has decreased from...

Seanad: Overseas Development: Statements (4 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for the work he is doing in this area, which is extremely important. A total of €600 million will be spent in 2015. In recent years we have had very good value for money for this expenditure, and we will continue to do so because the money allocated is very carefully managed and delivers very good results. The key areas where Ireland...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: I refer to the issue of attendance in accident and emergency departments, which was raised by a number of colleagues. That is one issue but collection of attendance fees is another. My understanding is more than €2 million still has not been collected for 2013. This matter should be dealt with and it is important to get a response from the Minister regarding what action is being...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Accident and Emergency Departments (4 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive response. The nursing homes represent the private sector. As the Minister of State has said, unions are represented on the task force, which is extremely important. Around 22,000 beds are provided by the private sector and, therefore, it plays a major part in dealing with the issues involved. It would be interesting to discuss the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Accident and Emergency Departments (4 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House and thank her for dealing with this matter. I welcome the decision by the Minister and the Minister of State in dealing with the emergency that has arisen in recent weeks with regard to the overcrowding in accident and emergency departments, with the large numbers increasing. As I said to someone recently, if we take the figures for last year we see that,...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: I join Senator Bacik in her remarks regarding the sale of Aer Lingus. From Cork's point of view, it is important that the connection to Heathrow would not disappear. No matter what agreement is reached, we will have no control over that connection if we no longer hold the 25.1% shareholding.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Feb 2015)

Colm Burke: Even with 25.1% we do not control Aer Lingus, but our chances of retaining that connection will be considerably reduced if the 25.1% is sold. Following the sale of Irish Sugar to Greencore, the country lost its sugar quota and an entire industry disappeared. I hope that the same will not happen in terms of Aer Lingus. I wish to raise a further matter of concern to me, namely, the...