Results 10,921-10,940 of 12,035 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: I join Senator Mary Moran in congratulating President Higgins on the superb way the UK visit went. It was a great credit to everyone involved in organising it and the contributions they made. It was well done and was a very good sales pitch from an Irish point of view. I had an Adjournment debate last Thursday on people who are self-employed and claiming maternity benefit. Serious...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Maternity Benefit Issues (10 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: The position the Minister of State outlined is not factual. I telephoned the Department about this issue when the decision was made in the case I raised. Officials informed me that they cannot take into account income from the previous year in making their assessment. The reply provided by the Minister of State does not correspond to the details provided in the letter I received from the...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Maternity Benefit Issues (10 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: I raise this issue in respect of someone who is self-employed and who claimed for maternity benefit only to find that a set of rules applies to her which seriously affected her. The set of rules seems be different depending on what time of the year the baby is born. If the baby is born on 31 December then there is clear evidence that she comes within the qualifying criteria because the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Chronic Pain Management: Discussion (10 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Chronic Pain Management: Discussion (10 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank our guests for their presentations. They provided a great deal of information in what they had to say. I wish to touch on one or two issues. Reference was made to the hospital groups, and from the map presented it is obvious there are some areas of the country where no service is available. Taking into account the new hospital groups, what numbers would need to be employed to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Sickle Cell Disease: Discussion (10 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: The witnesses were talking about maternity units. The two big units that are not included in what the witnesses outline are Galway and Cork. There are 9,000 deliveries a year in Cork. Surely if those two regions could be brought on board, a huge number of screenings will be added just overnight.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Sickle Cell Disease: Discussion (10 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: Part of that recommendation is about the screening in the hospitals that do not provide it. The southern region includes Waterford, Cork and Tralee.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Sickle Cell Disease: Discussion (10 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: I am formally proposing that we write to the Minister, suggesting that all maternity units provide the necessary screening.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Sickle Cell Disease: Discussion (10 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank the witnesses for their presentation. I seek clarification on the newborn screening programme. This is obviously something that would be hugely advantageous if it were introduced. Have there been any discussions with the 19 maternity units in the country on the possibility of introducing such a screening programme? On the issue of information being provided to GPs, have there been...

Seanad: Care of the Elderly: Motion (9 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: The number of medical cards has increased.

Seanad: Care of the Elderly: Motion (9 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: I move amendment No. 1:To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann" and substitute the following:- acknowledges that demographic trends must be taken into account in the planning of public services and determining policy in relation to meeting the healthcare and social care needs of the population, within available resources; - endorses Healthy Ireland, the Government framework designed to...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (9 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: I wish to raise an issue I raised yesterday on the present difficulty in filling consultant vacancies. It appears there is now a difficulty in filling general practitioner trainee vacancies. We need to have a debate on the cost of education. The cost of medical education here is approximately €90 million per annum, yet about 60% of that investment is gone out of the country within...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Local Authority Functions (8 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan. I know he is very busy. The issue I raise concerns access to information about decision makers in local authorities. All local authorities have websites featuring information on the services they provide. No comprehensive review has been undertaken of the need for local authorities to clearly...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Local Authority Functions (8 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: I appreciate the Minister's response and his ongoing reforms. In light of the forthcoming election of local councillors and the reduction in their numbers, I ask the Department to set out a clear schedule for addressing this issue in the next 12 months. I ask the Minister to take on board my request.

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: I welcome the progress in dealing with MRSA by hospitals. A total of 19 hospitals had no cases of MRSA in 2013, which is a major improvement on a number of years ago. The total number of cases decreased from 550 in 2006 to slightly in excess of 200 in 2013, and long may that progress continue. We all have a part to play when entering hospitals or other medical facilities to use the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Minister for Health (3 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: What is the situation in the voluntary hospitals, by comparison?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Health Issues: Minister for Health (3 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: I thank everyone for their contributions here this morning. I wish to refer to a reply to Question No. 7 on vacancies in consultant posts. Today is the first time that we have seen the real figures but they are only in respect of HSE hospitals and do not deal with the voluntary hospital issue. We can see that there are 250 wholetime equivalent posts consultant vacancies at present which...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: I support Senator Marc MacSharry's call for a debate on universal health care. It concerns forward planning in the health care system. We face major challenges, particularly in the care of the elderly, and need to engage in the forward planning that was not undertaken in the 14 years Senator Marc MacSharry's party was in government. Over €500 million had to be paid back because of a...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: In one country it took over 15 years to implement. Let us do it properly and engage in forward planning. We are behind all other countries in Europe in respect of computerisation and the use of e-mail for records and communication.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Planning Issues (1 Apr 2014)

Colm Burke: I have a major concern about planning authorities and planning contributions. I know of cases in which much development work that was to be carried out was not carried out five years after commencement despite the planning authorities having received planning contributions. There are 250 families affected directly. A new housing estate is being put in place and prospective residents are...