Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. The challenge we are facing is well summed up in the following statement in the document by Food and Drink Industry Ireland: "Childhood obesity is a hugely complex multi-faceted problem that requires a 'whole of society' response." Clearly, we are all in agreement on this. It is my view that wealth is health - the more money one has, the more open one is to reading food packaging in the supermarket and the greater one's ability to identify the nutritional value of the products one puts on the kitchen table. Some parents, particularly in poorer areas, may find this more challenging. Like most women, I go to the supermarket every weekend and, I confess, often pay little attention to back-of-pack information. I am usually rushing home to do something else or to canvass or deliver leaflets. The booklet the delegates have produced is excellent. It would be very helpful to me, as a public representative, if I were permitted to reprint some of that information in the public leaflets I distribute to communities on a regular basis. This is a concrete way in which public representatives can contribute to promoting awareness of the issues we are discussing. If the delegates' permission is forthcoming, I will be happy to do so.

The booklet advises that a portion of meat or fish should be the size of the palm of one's hand. The problem that springs immediately to mind here is cost. In advance of this meeting, I conducted a review of prices in shops in my local area yesterday. The cost of a small piece of fish, I found, was €3 to €4. That cost would be difficult to cover for a person with five or six children, particularly those, including social welfare recipients, with very small budgets. My survey showed that a package of cooking fat cost 48 cent compared with €3 to €6 for a bottle of oil. We must take realistic approach in all of this, and the reality is that the people suffering most from obesity are those living in poorer areas and struggling to survive on a daily basis. My local butcher told me yesterday that his best-selling product is the cheapest cut of mince, followed by chicken, which includes not just the breast fillet but the small fillet that comes off the back of the bird and from which one must remove the innards. Looking at bread prices, meanwhile, I found an 80 cent difference between the cost of a white and brown sliced pan. This is where the problem lies for the poorer sections of our society.

My children attended a local school in Goldenbridge where the principal, Mrs. Carmel Solan, developed a healthy eating policy some 25 years ago. The rule that children would not be allowed through the door with crisps or chocolate bars had a significant positive impact on the lifestyle of many young people. At the weekends, Mrs. Solan would purchase, out of her own pocket, bags of apples, oranges and bananas in order to ensure that every children would have some nutritious food every day. This was long before initiatives such as breakfast clubs.

I read some interesting statistics in a book which landed on my desk this morning. My cultural background means that a patch in the back garden with a few carrots is the sum of my contribution to farming.