Written answers

Thursday, 21 September 2023

Photo of Duncan SmithDuncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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66. To ask the Minister for Health if he is aware of an organisation (details supplied); if so, his views on the organisation’s role in assisting recovery through exercise; if he can commit to ensuring support for current classes in line with other support partners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40548/23]

Photo of Hildegarde NaughtonHildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The promotion of physical activity is a priority item under the Healthy Ireland Framework, as evidenced by the publication of the National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP) in 2016.

Substantial progress has been made in the implementation of the 60 actions set out in the NPAP, led by the Departments of Health and Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, through a cross-sectoral Implementation Group that includes a range of other Government Departments and agencies. Drafting of a successor strategy to the NPAP is currently underway which will set out the priorities in this area for the coming years.

One in three Irish adults are living with chronic disease. A range of organisations provide community-based exercise classes for chronic disease populations. These include patient support organisations, not-for-profit organisations such as ExWell Medical, and the publicly funded network of Local Sports Partnerships across Ireland. The HSE works in partnership with many of these to ensure access to exercise provision for adults living with chronic disease.

In a number of areas, the HSE has established formal working and funding relationships with ExWell Ltd. to provide access for patients to their exercise programmes.

The HSE are currently in the process of designing and implementing a Physical Activity Pathways in Healthcare model (PAPH), which will provide a structured physical activity programme for people with chronic disease or long-term health conditions, who do not require clinically led exercise programmes, with a focus on building their skills and confidence to engage with and maintain recreational sport participation independently.

Any future engagement with ExWell Medical will be considered in the context of the development and implementation of the PAPH model.

Photo of Colm BurkeColm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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67. To ask the Minister for Health if there are plans in place to further restrict the sale of single-use vapes in the country, especially those aimed at children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40618/23]

Photo of Stephen DonnellyStephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill will introduce a suite of measures which aim to reduce the appeal and availability of nicotine inhaling products such as electronic cigarettes to young people. In particular the Bill will prohibit the sale of these products to children and introduce a requirement for a licence for their sale.

In addition to legislation, there are a number of initiatives and campaigns at local and national level that tackle the issue of youth vaping. The HSE has recently worked with the Department of Education to develop Junior Cycle SPHE modules on substance misuse, including e-cigarettes. The module for Second Year students focuses on raising awareness of the impact of ’roll your own’ cigarettes, vaping and e-cigarettes, and exploring the marketing techniques employed by tobacco companies.

In addition, local initiatives that promote smoke free environments such as Not Around Us have sought to further reduce the areas where smoking and vaping are present in daily life, furthering the denormalisation of these products.

It should also be noted that my colleague Ossian Smyth, Minister of State in the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications has recently run a public consultation on disposable vaping devices to examine what action should be taken, from an environmental perspective, as disposable vaping devices present several environmental challenges. The options being considered include introducing legislation to ban the manufacture, sale, distribution, or free offer of disposable vaping devices. I await the results of this consultation with interest.

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