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

I thank our guests for attending. It is sometimes difficult to pose appropriate questions. Every day of the week people are bombarded with images and advertisements via television, radio and the Internet. Regardless of whether we like it, this has become our reality. I recently met a lady who was over 90 years of age. I asked her why she had such lovely skin and she informed me that she used a drop of rainwater and Oil of Olay on it each day and that she ate good food. If that is an advertisement, we should print copies of it. I have young daughters and image is very important to them. They watch many what I would term "mad" shows on television - I will not name them because I do not wish to give them free advertising - and they are all about image, clothing, make-up and looks. I recently watched a film on television with two of my daughters and discovered that a person whom I had always thought was a very attractive young actress had become a different woman. When I said her name, my daughters informed me that I was wrong, but it turned out that I was correct. The botched job done on this woman's face and lips is absolutely appalling and she looks like a different person. She has been a movie icon for many young people for the past 20 years.

Matters become very difficult for young people when they are bombarded with the images and advertisements to which I refer. One of my daughters recently completed a course on cosmetics at the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology. She thought that she would immediately break into films as a make-up artist, but the reality has hit home that this is not going to happen. She has a temporary job at a make-up counter in a particular store. I asked her in recent days whether this was what she wanted to do for the remainder of her life. She informed me that it was but that she wanted to do it right. Even though young people are bombarded with advertising images, they are still very clever when it comes to what they want to do and how they want to do it. When we were talking, my daughter came to the realisation that so many people had cosmetic surgery which they either did not need or which - if it was necessary - was a complete failure.

I absolutely agree with what Senator John Crown said about reconstructive surgery. A young man I have come to know very well in recent years contracted very bad cancer of the face and the wonderful job done by doctors to allow him to live his life from day to day is amazing.

Ms Kelly referred to buy-one-get-one-free offers. People can go into their local euro shops or pharmacies and try on non-prescription spectacles. When they discover they can read the little card on the stand in front of them, they suddenly become eye experts. How can pharmacists who operate legitimate businesses allow such stands to be placed on their premises? The people who buy such glasses are deciding for themselves whether they are short sighted or far sighted. I do not know whether it is to such matters that Ms Kelly is referring, but I have a real issue with this behaviour. I know many young people who wear glasses for image purposes. There is nothing wrong with their eyes and they buy glasses simply because they think they look great wearing them. Will Ms Kelly indicate whether this is the type of thing to which she is referring?