Results 10,981-11,000 of 11,292 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Oct 2012)

Colm Burke: I join my colleagues who have raised the issue of Simon Week. Last night I attended the launch of a Simon project by John Lonergan, former governor of Mountjoy Prison. During the course of his speech he was interrupted by someone who was complaining about the fact that they were locked out of the Simon Community hostel the previous night, which indicates the strain it is under as regards...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Sep 2012)

Colm Burke: To follow up on the events over the past 24 hours, it is important to realise there are more than 100,000 people working in the HSE and the health service and one cannot implement change overnight. It will take time and will be a long drawn out process. I have heard people complain about the lack of change and I have heard people say it is difficult to manage a small company with two or...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Sep 2012)

Colm Burke: To follow up on the events in the past 24 hours, it is important to realise there are more than 100,000 people working in the HSE and the health service and one cannot implement change overnight. It will take time and will be a long drawn out process. I have heard people complain about the lack of change and I have heard people say it is difficult to manage a small company with two or three...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Business of Joint Committee (27 Sep 2012)

Colm Burke: I would also like to be associated with the Chairman's remarks. It was unfortunate that this decision was taken, but she had done a huge amount of work in a very short period of time. As other speakers have said, it is important that we ensure this work is seen through.

Seanad: Life-Limiting Health Conditions in Children: Motion (26 Sep 2012)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am a little surprised as to how business is conducted in this House in respect of certain matters. While I may be stepping on toes by making this point, I am not at all sure that tabling an amendment is the best way to deal with this matter. I am a little surprised that some form of joint agreement on the matter has not been reached in this...

Seanad: Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012: Second Stage (26 Sep 2012)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for introducing this legislation. We need to consider where we are in health care and think about the very negative message given out on health care. We need to consider why we need reform and need to create efficiencies. Currently, 27% of all Government spending is on health care. This means 27 cent of every euro paid in income tax goes...

Seanad: Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012: Order for Second Stage (26 Sep 2012)

Colm Burke: I move: "That Second Stage be taken now."

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2012)

Colm Burke: I wish to follow up on what the Senator has just said in regard to the insurance industry. I am concerned that local authorities have not corresponded with the Irish Insurance Federation outlining what action they have taken to ensure there is not a repeat of the flood event that occurred in Cork. A councillor had a question tabled to one of the local authorities in the past week and the...

Seanad: Syrian Conflict: Statements (25 Sep 2012)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for the contribution he made. I commend him for taking the initiative to visit the refugee camps. It is only when one visits the refugee camps that one can see the difficulties on the ground. In 2008 I visited Chad and the Sudanese border area to see 500,000 people in refugee camps and IDP sites, where people lived in fear because...

Seanad: Syrian Conflict: Statements (25 Sep 2012)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for the contribution he made. I commend him for taking the initiative to visit the refugee camps. It is only when one visits the refugee camps that one can see the difficulties on the ground. In 2008 I visited Chad and the Sudanese border area to see 500,000 people in refugee camps and IDP sites, where people lived in fear because...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Sep 2012)

Colm Burke: I raise the issue of the legislative backlog in respect of each Department and the Government list in regard to the areas in respect of which there is a need for legislation. More than 100 Bills are on the list and, at a time when there is a shortage of work in the legal profession and especially at the Bar, it may be time to examine the process of how legislation is drafted and whether some...

Seanad: Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Bill 2012: Second Stage (19 Jul 2012)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister for bringing this important Bill to the House today. I wish to deal briefly with last week's Bill, on which I made my views quite well known. I believe section 3 of that Bill gave a blank cheque to drug companies because it made it quite clear that once it was approved by the European Medicines Agency and once it was prescribed, the HSE had to provide it. There was no...

Seanad: Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Bill 2012: Second Stage (19 Jul 2012)

Colm Burke: In the next session.

Seanad: Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Bill 2012: Second Stage (19 Jul 2012)

Colm Burke: At 10 a.m. tomorrow.

Seanad: Developments in the European Union and Ireland's Presidency of the European Council: Statements with An Taoiseach (18 Jul 2012)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Taoiseach to the House today. I wish to raise two issues. He will know that I am a former Member of the European Parliament where Members had one minute of speaking time, so I try to stick to that here. Having listened to the Taoiseach's presentation I know that 175 events have or will be organised for our six month Presidency. My colleague, Senator Cáit Keane, asked me to...

Seanad: Developments in the European Union and Ireland's Presidency of the European Council: Statements with An Taoiseach (18 Jul 2012)

Colm Burke: I was one of the first people here, having served at European Parliament level, to ask for a change in how we deal with European legislation in both Houses. There is an opportunity for the House to be used in an effective manner to monitor and examine the agenda of the European Commission in order that we can flag what is coming down the road at an early stage. Both issues should be taken...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Report and Final Stages (18 Jul 2012)

Colm Burke: I move amendment No. 18: In page 23, line 36, after "injured" to insert "or diseased". I will not press the amendment but I understand the Minister will consider this matter again. The various paragraphs in the section refer to "severely injured or diseased" animals but subsection (4) refers only to animals which are "injured" and there is no reference to an animal that is diseased. This is...

Seanad: Youth Services (18 Jul 2012)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to address my query about the Cork Life Centre. I had raised the matter previously with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the reply I received was incomplete, as, unfortunately, I believe she was not provided with the full information on the centre. This centre caters for young people aged between 12 and 18 who have dropped...

Seanad: Youth Services (18 Jul 2012)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. I am somewhat concerned about some of the information in the reply - for instance the reference to the VEC. The 960 VES hours equates to 1.5 teachers in real terms. The VEC has indicated it cannot guarantee that it will be able to provide those hours next year. I am surprised at the 2,768 hours the Minister of State mentioned. I...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jul 2012)

Colm Burke: I support the call by Senator Ivana Bacik for a debate on the reform of the sale-of-alcohol legislation. The National Suicide Research Foundation published a timely report today that showed 78% of 190 people who committed suicide in the Cork region had abused alcohol in the preceding 12 months. Some 35% had abused both alcohol and drugs in the preceding 12 months. The report shows a direct...