Results 11,101-11,120 of 11,255 for speaker:Colm Burke

Seanad: Private Residential Tenancies Board (7 Feb 2012)

Colm Burke: The survey was done between the end of December 2011 and early January 2012. Has there been a fall-off in registration since the second quarter of 2011? Does that need to be looked at?

Seanad: Private Residential Tenancies Board (7 Feb 2012)

Colm Burke: I can give the Minister of State a copy of the survey and the roads involved.

Seanad: EU Fiscal Compact Treaty: Statements, Questions and Answers (7 Feb 2012)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister of State for again coming to the House to keep us fully advised of what is going on at European level. My question relates to Article 3.3 and the right of a contracting party to deviate. I raise this in the context of what has happened in Ireland. When the building industry was doing very well, from every €100,000 a builder got in, some €44,000 would have come in...

Seanad: Order of Business. (7 Feb 2012)

Colm Burke: I raise an issue which has received a fair bit of coverage over the past few days, which relates to an audit report from Cork County VEC. It has been shown that teachers have been paid for 1,070 hours that were not worked and over €60,000 has been paid. A person was hired to drive children to a Youthreach project despite having been convicted of rape in the UK, as there was no background...

Seanad: Priorities in Foreign Affairs: Statements (2 Feb 2012)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Tánaiste to the House. I refer to the issue of Palestine. I was in Gaza three years ago, four weeks after the bombing by Israel. In that three years nothing has changed. I may be open to correction but I understand Israel is one of the fourth biggest exporters of arms and munitions, yet it imported €1.6 billion worth of arms and munitions over a period of four years. The...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Feb 2012)

Colm Burke: I am mesmerised by the enthusiasm of the other side for a referendum, given, in particular, the lack of public meetings held by Senator Daly's party in south Kerry during the previous two referendums. By way of information, when I met a sitting Fianna Fáil Deputy at a referendum count and said to him that I had not seen him campaigning on the referendum his response was that his colleague...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Feb 2012)

Colm Burke: There appears to be a great deal of misunderstanding about what is done with money collected through taxation here. I attended a meeting last night which provided information on health care, which cost €13.4 billion last year despite that only €13.317 billion in income tax was collected. Every cent taken in through income tax was spent on health care. While there is much information...

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2012)

Colm Burke: I support Senator O'Brien's proposal that if a decision is taken and we must await the decision of the Attorney General about a referendum, the indications are that it is not something that can be decided overnight. It is a complex legal issue on which the Attorney General must give definite advice to the Government but if the Attorney General decides there is not a need for a referendum, I...

Seanad: Counterfeit Pesticides (26 Jan 2012)

Colm Burke: My question is about the sale of pesticides. While I know there is comprehensive legislation dealing with this matter, I would like to ask about counterfeit pesticides. My understanding is that there is a major trade in counterfeit pesticides across Europe, although the authorities are working hard to combat this problem. A loophole has been identified. It is illegal to sell counterfeit...

Seanad: Counterfeit Pesticides (26 Jan 2012)

Colm Burke: My understanding is that there is adequate legislation but the problem is the impounding of products. There is concern that the EU regulations, which we have followed very carefully, involve a technicality about the impounding of counterfeit pesticide. The issue has been raised at European level. I do not know whether there is a proposal to introduce amending regulations to deal with it....

Seanad: Counterfeit Pesticides (26 Jan 2012)

Colm Burke: I thank the Minister.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jan 2012)

Colm Burke: I wish to add to what my colleague Senator Cáit Keane had to say on the JobBridge programme. When it was introduced, a public nursing home applied to be included in the programme, but it was advised it could not be part of it. However, representations having been made to the Minister, she changed the regulation so that now people who want to get experience of working with elderly people...

Seanad: Water Services: Statements (25 Jan 2012)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State. When I was Lord Mayor of Cork a number of years ago, I had to take a trip to Kenya. I visited a hospital 125 miles south of Nairobi, which did not have a water supply. The only water staff had to use was collected from the hospital roof during the two weeks of the year it rained, which was pumped into ten 50,000 l tanks. That was the hospital's water...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Jan 2012)

Colm Burke: Last Friday I had the privilege of attending the Cork Person of the Year ceremony. A monthly award is given and, at the end of the year, one of the 12 is picked. For instance, Maureen O'Hara was selected as Cork Person of the Month. However, Liam Casey won the annual award. He is from Cork but he works in China and employs more than 1,200 people. He made two points at the presentation....

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Jan 2012)

Colm Burke: When we debate health issues, we should examine the issue of education in the context of health care. In some areas, the number of deaths from a particular condition is much higher than others and this reflects how people live their lives. Education programmes could be undertaken and, in Cork city, the university, the hospitals and the HSE are working together. This should be taken on...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (18 Jan 2012)

Colm Burke: I join in conveying sympathies to all the families, particularly those in west Cork, which suffered loss in recent days. I pay tribute to the emergency services who responded so quickly; that is a tribute to their commitment to the job. In response to the health question, there is no proposal to close 900 public beds. There is a proposal regarding efficiencies in the health service. Over...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (18 Jan 2012)

Colm Burke: I wish to raise the non-registration of properties to the Private Residential Tenancies Board. A survey was carried out in Cork over the past few weeks and in the Mardyke alone, of the houses surveyed, 235 houses were not registered. Some 60% of houses around UCC and NCIT are not registered with the PRTB, with a loss of approximately €19 million in fees alone. The board was set up by the...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (18 Jan 2012)

Colm Burke: We could debate the matter as we have gone after certain groups in society with regard to tax.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (18 Jan 2012)

Colm Burke: Yes. A significant number of properties are not registered and there is a significant loss of income to the PRTB and the Revenue Commissioners. It is a matter for debate and the relevant Minister should be here to discuss it.

Seanad: Suicide Prevention: Statements (12 Jan 2012)

Colm Burke: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch and thank her for her comprehensive speech. I have worked with her in Cork North Central for a number of years and I know that when she takes on a project, she sets her mind on achieving an outcome. I hope that by the time she finishes her term in the Department, the targets she has set will be met. The Minister of State is dedicated...