Results 10,321-10,340 of 11,702 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Drugs Payment Scheme Coverage (26 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister for State for coming to the House to deal with this Adjournment matter which concerns the medication, Selincro Nalmefene, an innovative treatment which was found to be cost effective and the subject of a positive recommendation from the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics on 8 April. It was announced today that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in...

Seanad: Availability of Certain Medication: Statements (26 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister for Health, Deputy Leo Varadkar, for giving a comprehensive reply to this matter. Like Senator Darragh O’Brien, I have been in contact with many MS sufferers for whom the drug was successful. In one case I know, the pharmacy is providing the drug at cost to the MS sufferer. When I raised this matter on the Adjournment on 17 June, I was advised that a new...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome the announcements made in Cork on Friday. A €50-million development was begun, with the foundations being laid. The interesting thing is that it involves 175,000 square feet of office space and that even before the foundations were laid, 60% of this office space had been taken up and will be occupied within the next 16 months once it is completed. It is of concern to see...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome yesterday's announcements about Irish Water and wish to make a few comments on what was said here this morning and take exception to Senator Cullinane's allegation that the Government is toxic. We have created more than 70,000 jobs since we came to power and are creating around 1,200 new jobs per week. We have brought stability to this country. We are also making sure we have a...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: General Practitioner Services (19 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State. His response was positive, but there is a great reliance on the IBTS developing services. We are discussing rolling out a small research project to a number of general practices across the country. By working with general practitioners, GPs, in Cork, Cork University Hospital, the IBTS and UCC could identify the best way of managing this system and set out a...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: General Practitioner Services (19 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I know he is stepping in for the Minister for Health on this matter. Ireland has the highest rate of hereditary haemochromatosis, which is a condition caused by the gradual accumulation of excess iron in the body, in the world. Haemochromatosis can develop without symptoms until it reaches an advanced stage at which it can be fatal. The...

Seanad: Adoption (Identity and Information) Bill 2014: Second Stage (19 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House. I thank the Senators who have introduced this Bill, in particular, Senators Power, van Turnhout and Healy Eames. As someone who has been involved in drafting Private Members' Bills I know it is not an easy task and it takes a lot of work, dedication and commitment. I thank everyone involved. This Bill is comprehensive and carefully drafted and it...

Seanad: Adoption (Identity and Information) Bill 2014: Second Stage (19 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: If they had been in the same party they might have met earlier. When they are together one can see that they are sisters. They were put into foster care and had not been adopted yet it took them until they were in their 70s to find each another. This brings home the reason change is needed in this area. I refer to the recent Supreme Court judgment in the case of I.O'T v. B which states:...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Activities and Priorities: Eurofound (18 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank Eurofound for its report. Am I correct in saying our wage and salary levels are in the top six or seven in Europe? We have high costs in getting a product to the market because so many of our exports go to the European market. Do we need to be careful to make sure we keep our competitive edge over other manufacturers and producers, for example, in the pharmaceutical area? Has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Accountability Report 2013: European Movement Ireland (18 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: It might be helpful if the procedures for asking questions at the European Parliament were explained. It is not the same as it is in the Oireachtas. It would be helpful to include an explanation regarding the procedures because it is not the case that one can ask a question every week and it would be helpful to clarify that. As for the second issue regarding attendance at meetings and as...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Housing Regeneration (13 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. My question concerns the housing regeneration programme in Knocknaheeny. There are over 1,150 local authority houses in the Knocknaheeny area. A number of years ago, the local authority decided on a regeneration of the whole area and a detailed planning process was put in place to deal with it. I understand that we are still on phases 1A and...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Housing Regeneration (13 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I know that money was allocated in 2014, but my understanding is that the drawdown and availability of money has been extremely slow. The whole project has slowed up quite considerably. In fairness, it is a project that needs to be given priority. If there are obstacles to be overcome then it is important that they be dealt with. It appears,...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: We have not had a debate in the House for some time on the issue of local authority housing and its future. We need a discussion on this issue. Many people whose economic circumstances have changed would be prepared to purchase their houses from the local authority, but there is no provision in place to allow them to do so. It is important that people be given that opportunity. They have...

Seanad: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State and the Department for bringing forward this legislation. I also thank the Department for the consultation that took place prior to this. It is important that there be consultation prior to bringing forward legislation - as many people as possible should be involved in the process. This legislation is evidence of this. I thank everyone who contributed to the...

Seanad: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: Any member of a profession can report a matter to the Competition Authority without the necessity for a provision to be included in legislation. Comprehensive legislation relating to the Competition Authority is already in place. This Bill deals with health care, and I do not believe we should now impose an additional condition here when the issue is already dealt with adequately in other...

Seanad: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: The amendments refers to the discovery of a medical condition that requires medical treatment. That means a practitioner would be required to make a recommendation that the patient take a second opinion for every medical condition discovered. Even where the practitioner has competence to deal with the matter, he or she is obliged to refer the patient to someone else. This is why I have a...

Seanad: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: I agree with Senator MacSharry. The amendment is extremely restrictive. It refers to any person registered by the Optical Registration Board, in the course of an examination, discovering a medical condition that would require medical treatment. The people about whom we are talking would have the competence to deal with certain aspects, such as an infection or some aspects of a problem that...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: I agree with Senator Darragh O'Brien about the need for a debate on the Fair Deal scheme, because we are facing major problems. Given the number of people in hospital who have been assigned nursing homes, the cost to the State is approximately €40 million. This is a huge amount of money and the question is whether we provide those beds by making cuts in other areas or by increasing...

Seanad: Suicide and Mental Health: Statements (11 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank her for her very comprehensive overview of the progress that has been made in the provision of mental health services and the health policy reform that is progressing in this area. There are two major challenges. First, there is the whole area of reform, on which A Vision for Change sets out a clear pathway. The second area that is the...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Nov 2014)

Colm Burke: I join in conveying our sympathy to the Walsh family on the death of Mr. Joe Walsh. He was an outstanding Deputy for west Cork and an extremely progressive Minister for Agriculture and Food. He made a major contribution as a Minister and it is important we recognise that fact. I join in conveying our sympathy to his wife and family. Even before he came into politics, he was involved in...