Results 10,541-10,560 of 11,632 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Health Professions Admission Test Administration (26 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I wish to raise an issue related to HPAT which is the exam that students who wish to study medicine must undertake. Concerns have been raised recently in the media. I think this examination was introduced in 2009. I am not too sure about the extent of what it has achieved since 2009. The concerns raised relate to over 700 people who attended...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: I join with colleagues in expressing sympathy to the McFadden family on the death of Nicky who as a councillor, Senator and Deputy worked tirelessly on behalf of her constituents. She will be sadly missed by her family, her constituents, all in the Houses of the Oireachtas and the Fine Gael Party. On the events that have occurred over the past 48 hours, I pay tribute to the Taoiseach for the...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: -----to ensure that all the information is properly dealt with.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: The Cabinet has dealt with the issue and we are moving forward in a proper manner rather than, as in the case of previous Governments, hiding behind State confidentiality and so on. The Taoiseach has acted properly in this matter. People are jumping to conclusions too early on in this matter. Let us hear all of the information before reaching conclusions. I would like to touch on an issue...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Suicide in Ireland: Discussion (13 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: Dr. Brophy has referred to binge drinking and one of the worst days for this activity that I have witnessed is Arthur's day.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Suicide in Ireland: Discussion (13 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: Is there evidence that there is an increase?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Suicide in Ireland: Discussion (13 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: It would be an interesting piece of research.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Suicide in Ireland: Discussion (13 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank everyone for their contributions. I apologise for missing some of the contributions but I have read them. I raise the issue of suicide among males between the age of 15 and 30. Is there one area the witnesses believe we should prioritise in terms of trying to reduce suicide in that age group? There is a range of actions we should be taking, some of which, in fairness, are being...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Suicide in Ireland: Discussion (13 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank all of the contributors for their contributions. I thank Senator Gilroy for bringing forward the report. Many of the issues I wanted to raise have been raised already. Deputy Kelleher referred to the problem in respect of males under 30 years of age. What changes have occurred in the past five or six years in this area? Has any analysis been carried out? Has the substantial...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: Deputy Bradford raised the issue of cross-border health care. As someone who was involved in this area at European level, I believe it is important the directive is transposed into Irish law. The directive has been passed for some time and the deadline for transposition into Irish law was October 2013. It is important the cross-border health care directive is transposed and I ask the...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: It would be appropriate that the Government consider farming out the drafting of legislation, because it appears there is a problem in fast-tracking legislation. Many Departments have a programme with regard to what legislation they need to get through. I ask the Leader to consider the issue in respect of the initial drafting of legislation, not the final drafting. At least it would get...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: I am putting forward a constructive proposal. If Senators do not want to hear a constructive proposal, then they should not bother to listen.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: In fairness, the drafting of legislation is not something that can be done overnight; it takes quite an amount of time. As one who has been involved in the drafting of two pieces of legislation, I can see it is time to examine the issue and deal with it in a constructive way. I say to the Leader that this is a matter we should take up with Ministers and individual Departments to see whether...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Early Years Strategy: Discussion (6 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank the delegates for their presentations. I apologise for not being here but I have read the presentations. I thank the delegates for the work they are doing in this important area. I want to raise an issue concerning a programme in which the delegates may not be directly involved. In 1996 we introduced the Breaking the Cycle scheme whereby we increased the number of teachers per...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Report on Perinatal Deaths at Midland Regional Hospital: Discussion (6 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: There was also the withdrawal of rest days for staff on a one in three roster. They are being withdrawn in some units but not all.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Report on Perinatal Deaths at Midland Regional Hospital: Discussion (6 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: I am talking about the position around the country where the rest day has been withdrawn in some units but not all. I am asking that the issue be dealt with because the number of patients has increased but the number of consultants has not.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Report on Perinatal Deaths at Midland Regional Hospital: Discussion (6 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: I referred to the withdrawal of rest days. The amount of work consultants in these units are required to do has doubled over the past eight to ten years. We have now withdrawn rest days for working weekends, with one in three on call in 11 units around the country. The second issue risk refers to the changeover of managerial staff in the smaller hospitals around the country, which is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Report on Perinatal Deaths at Midland Regional Hospital: Discussion (6 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: Was the difficulty in retaining and recruiting midwives explained in the report? Did the authors find out why there were recruitment difficulties? There are a lot of qualified midwives out there and I do not understand why there was a difficulty in recruiting. Has an explanation been found as to why people were reluctant to go to work in Portlaoise?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Report on Perinatal Deaths at Midland Regional Hospital: Discussion (6 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome the publication of the report and thank the families for highlighting the issue and forcing action to be taken. Other members have raised the issue of staffing levels being extremely low, particularly with regard to midwives. Has the reason for this been identified, as the report does not seem to indicate it? Why were levels so low and why did vacancies continue? Is it a...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2014)

Colm Burke: I, too, join in expressing concern about the situation in Ukraine. It highlights the level of progress that has been made in Europe during the past 50 years when we consider that in the first 50 years of the previous century, 67 million people died in two world wars, the vast majority in Europe. One can travel from the Dingle Peninsula all the way to the Russian border without encountering...