Mr. Chris Macey:

I will respond to Deputy McConalogue's excellent question regarding how everyone thinks the subject in which they are interested is the most important. I will not say anything bad about history. It is an important subject, as is geography and as are all the others mentioned. In regard to PE, class time will remain the same, but what we are talking about is non-sedentary study time. Besides physical reasons, there are strong emotional and social reasons for a strong PE curriculum in our schools. Physical exercise also plays an important mental health role. This is an issue at the top of the policy agenda currently, for obvious reasons. One of the most important ways to assist children's mental health and its development is through physical activity.

We have an obesity crisis in this country. I am aware from attending various committees and from watching what goes on in the Dáil that this is an issue that is discussed quite often. The Dáil has been debating for several years what to do about obesity but has not managed to do anything positive to tackle the problem because of the complexity of the issue. The issue of fat taxes is complex, as is the issue of the marketing of food for children, because of the power of the vested interests in various parts of the food industry. It would be easy to implement what we seek. We are talking about time for PE in schools. If we cannot do this, we cannot do anything. We know from research that the time allocated to PE is more important than the facilities in terms of having an effective course and curriculum. We are not giving the time required to PE. If we cannot resolve this issue of time for PE, we will not be able to resolve any of the more complex issues.

A question was asked regarding how far we have got. We have not got anywhere. We have written to the Minister and the Department and have asked for meetings, but we have not got any satisfaction. I do not believe our opinion is valued and, in desperation, we have talked to the Department of Health. Obviously, that Department will speak for itself, but it is concerned.