Results 10,981-11,000 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Jul 2012)

Colm Burke: No, really.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Jul 2012)

Colm Burke: I raise an issue mentioned by a colleague yesterday and in a national newspaper this morning. I refer to absenteeism in the health service. The health service appears to be unable to respond to the issues that cause absenteeism. For example, nurses who are pregnant are not assigned to lighter duties. One report said more than 50% of nurses who were pregnant were on sick leave for more...

Seanad: Mortgage Arrears, Banking and the Economy: Statements, Questions and Answers (3 Jul 2012)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister for making time available to deal with this matter today. I want to deviate slightly from the issue of insolvency. The Minister mentioned that 76,000 mortgages are in arrears. I would like to ask about the problems that banks have encountered with regard to legal undertakings that have been given. I am aware that in the case of a legal practice in Dublin, there were...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Jul 2012)

Colm Burke: I, too, join my colleagues in thanking the Leader and all those who contributed to this morning's debate. It was very constructive, and well done to everyone involved. I raise an issue that was raised last week but it is important that it be raised again. It concerns the flooding in Cork and the need for decisive action to be taken on that matter. One of the problems experienced by people...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2012)

Colm Burke: I join with my colleagues in expressing concern about last night's flooding, particularly in the Cork area. It is not so long ago since the western side of the city was badly affected, now Douglas, on the south side and Ballyvolane and Blackpool on the north side are seriously affected. It goes back to the issue of long-term planning and whether we are making adequate provision for such...

Seanad: Credit Guarantee Bill 2012: Committee Stage (28 Jun 2012)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State. It is very important that this support mechanism is put in place. I have been involved in the private sector for more than 30 years and one of my concerns about the banking industry is the lack of insight it has into providing funding. The best example I can give relates to leasing companies. The banks are giving money to these companies across the board,...

Seanad: Credit Guarantee Bill 2012: Committee Stage (28 Jun 2012)

Colm Burke: One of the things the Government is doing is achieving efficiencies in the public sector, which is long overdue. We have been spending money where we have not been achieving value for money, but the Government is seeking to change this and will continue to do so. The amendment would require the Minister to produce a report every 12 months, but it would not give him the flexibility he...

Seanad: Credit Guarantee Bill 2012: Committee Stage (28 Jun 2012)

Colm Burke: The amendment reads "every 12 months". The provision included in the Bill is adequate. It gives an undertaking, whereby the Minister will produce a report. There are also procedures in this House and the Dáil, whereby Members can request information from the Minister if they are not satisfied with a report. The Bill deals with this issue adequately. There is a need for flexibility for...

Seanad: European Communities (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (26 Jun 2012)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Tánaiste to the House and thank him for giving leadership in the referendum treaty and making a major contribution to ensure the right decision was taken. It was a very positive decision from an Irish point of view and copperfastens our commitment to involvement in Europe by leading the way in terms of the European agenda. Speaking in Cork last week, Bill Clinton remarked that...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jun 2012)

Colm Burke: I concur with the views expressed by my colleague, Senator Denis O'Donovan, on An Taisce. The Senator is correct that the same rules should be applied to An Taisce as to other organisations and that it should come within the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. Some years ago in Cork the taxpayer had to pick up the €20 million in additional costs incurred when a project in which...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Jun 2012)

Colm Burke: I wish to raise the issue of the report published yesterday on the deaths of children. I am involved in a small way with a centre dealing with young people who drop out of the education system. It is a life centre which looks after 15 to 18 young people. Its funding falls between the Department of Education and Skills, the Department of Health, the Department of Justice and Equality and...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Jun 2012)

Colm Burke: The Chairperson of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children has advised me that the report to be published today on children in care will be debated in full in the committee tomorrow. That will give an opportunity for Members of the House who sit on the committee to take part in that debate. I wish to raise a matter relating to the constitutional debate. A decision has been...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Search Warrants) Bill 2012: Second Stage (19 Jun 2012)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for a comprehensive presentation on the need for this amending legislation. I welcome the Bill but have one or two observations to make on the question of independence. I note that District Court judges will now be involved in issuing warrants, except in exceptional circumstances. Following the Morris tribunal's recommendations, the Law...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Jun 2012)

Colm Burke: I join in the call for a debate on the situation in the Middle East. I do not necessarily agree with my colleague, Senator Paul Bradford. I visited Gaza four weeks after the Israeli forces had used white phosphorous and cluster munitions in an incident in which more than 340 children were killed. The problem is of long standing and in Gaza, in particular, little progress has been made in...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Jun 2012)

Colm Burke: I do. If we are having a debate on health care, we must also examine the issues of value for money and the cost of absenteeism. Absenteeism among the medical profession, wherein some people work 60 to 70 hours per week, is less than 1% whereas the level is as high as 5.7% among management and general support staff. These figures do not add up. It is about time we held a serious debate on...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Jun 2012)

Colm Burke: -----there is a significant difference between 1% and 5.7%.

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Jun 2012)

Colm Burke: That is incorrect.

Seanad: Seanad Report on the Rights of Older People: Statements (13 Jun 2012)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State and thank her for taking a proactive approach to elderly care and keeping people at home for as long as possible. That is very important. One of the problems in this area, particularly in 2004, was a reactive approach to elderly care rather than a proactive approach. The Maud McInerney case in 1978 set out clear guidelines on certain issues, yet there was no...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 May 2012)

Colm Burke: Following on from the issue raised by Senator Cullinane, I would like to have a debate on the growth package as it is extremely important. It is also important to outline that the Government has set out a clear path on how it is dealing with the economic difficulties in this country. In the debate perhaps Senator Cullinane could outline where Sinn Féin proposes to get the necessary funding...

Seanad: Payment of Awards (16 May 2012)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for a very comprehensive response to the matter.