Results 10,261-10,280 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Health Service Plan 2014: Minister for Health and HSE (14 Jan 2014)

Colm Burke: I join colleagues in thanking the HSE staff, including the back-room staff, for all the work they have done over the last number of years and hopefully throughout 2014, and their dedication and commitment. I am concerned about the fair deal issue and step-down facilities from the point of view that the number of people over 65 is increasing all the time. We are talking about providing...

Seanad: Adoption (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (20 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister for coming forward with the legislation, which is welcome. I am involved with one family that is adopting from Russia so know that the process takes time. The family was lucky because the process had been completed prior to October 2012. It is important to introduce amending legislation that will support families who have worked hard to adopt only to have their efforts...

Seanad: Protection of Children's Health from Tobacco Smoke Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: I do not wish to delay but I have a question about an outright ban on smoking in cars. I do not want to delay the progress of the legislation but I wonder if this matter could be examined.

Seanad: Protection of Children's Health from Tobacco Smoke Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: Yes, we have no objection to the amendments.

Seanad: Protection of Children's Health from Tobacco Smoke Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister for coming into the House for a second time this week. I welcome the amendments tabled by the proposers of the Bill and for the work they have done in preparing them and in preparing the Bill, which is very detailed. On the issue of banning smoking in cars with passengers under 18, in fairness, the amendments deal with the issue of producing evidence to prove someone is...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: I have come from a meeting of the health committee at which the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald announced that the Family Support Agency will commence its work in January. This is a welcome development. More than 4,000 staff will transfer to the agency. The establishment of the agency is a significant child care reform, considering that the annual birth...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Children and Youth Issues: Discussion with Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (19 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister and her staff for all the work they have done over the last two and half years. It is not an easy task to establish a new agency and transfer 4,000 people. In a way, it is like taking over a company and doing due diligence beforehand, so it is quite a long process. There is a case of crossover between the Minister's Department and the Departments of Education and...

Seanad: Protection of the Public Interest from Tobacco Lobbying Bill 2013: Second Stage (18 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House. I thank Senator Crown for his work in presenting this Bill. This subject needs to be discussed. I have carefully studied the Bill as presented and I do not think it would stand up to constitutional challenge. This must be the test for any legislation coming before the House. The tobacco industry is a very powerful lobby group and it would not miss the...

Seanad: Protection of the Public Interest from Tobacco Lobbying Bill 2013: Second Stage (18 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: On 30 April the Government approved the drafting of the lobbying Bill 2013. It is appropriate to examine the issue of lobbying. The objective of the lobbying Bill is to introduce a register of lobbyists, to place on the register information on the identity of those communicating on specific policy, legislative matters or prospective decisions with designated public officials or...

Seanad: Protection of the Public Interest from Tobacco Lobbying Bill 2013: Second Stage (18 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: I am explaining that the Government is setting out clear guidelines on lobbying-----

Seanad: Protection of the Public Interest from Tobacco Lobbying Bill 2013: Second Stage (18 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: The lobbying Bill establishes that public bodies will publish on their websites an up-to-date list of the name and grade of its designated public officials and officeholders. The Bill sets out the Government's policy on the regulation of lobbying. It does not prevent lobbying but rather it provides clear guidelines for its management. The Government's intention is clear. The heads of the...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: If there are genuine issues and concerns in respect of NAMA, and it appears there are, the appropriate authority to investigate them is the Garda. Any information people receive should be conveyed to the Garda. It is important to bear in mind also that valuations carried out even six months ago are now out of date because the market has changed. I received a telephone call in the last week...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (17 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: Next Thursday.

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (17 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House. In the past five years more than €3 billion has been taken from the health budget. When people talk about cost, they seem to assume that cutting funding from health care also means cutting services, but that is not the case. It is about making it more cost effective. We have saved money as a result of being proactive in getting value for money...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: With regard to the charities issue, I was out collecting at the weekend for a charity. There is support for genuine charities. The contributions from people were phenomenal. Once they were satisfied as to the identity of the charity they had no difficulty contributing. In fact, it was a very good cause. In early September, I submitted a question in the health committee on the issue of HSE...

Seanad: Pyrite Resolution Bill 2013: Second Stage (16 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister and thank him for bringing forward this legislation. The problem of pyrite is one of the most frightening things for any family to encounter. I have worked in the legal profession and acted for builders where subsidence has occurred. In addition, I have worked for householders. Identifying and dealing with subsidence is one problem, but pyrite is a far more complex...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister. It is always difficult to introduce changes such as this, but we must respond to what the market requires and provide equal access to health insurance. This is, unfortunately, the way it has to be dealt with. More than 530,000 people are aged over 65 years, many of whom, thankfully, have health insurance. That cohort will continue to increase in the coming years...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: Following on from the meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts yesterday on the organisations which are getting State funding, I raised this issue in the Joint Committee on Health and Children on 17 October where there was an acceptance by the HSE and the Department of Health that there were irregularities in their three-page reply to me. Of the Health budget of €13.3 billion,...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Non-Consultant Hospital Doctors Recruitment (11 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for the reply and I appreciate the work being done by the Minister in the Department. I am a little concerned the final report will not be published until June 2014 and that an interim report will be published. Nothing really seems to have changed for 2014. While I accept that implementing the working time directive is necessary and fundamental for the health...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Non-Consultant Hospital Doctors Recruitment (11 Dec 2013)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to take this matter. This matter relates to the junior doctor issue, a matter I have dealing with over the past two years. I am very concerned about the issue because of the 4,900 doctors employed in the health service, some 2,000 are on six-month only contracts. I eventually extracted this information from the HSE after approximately...