Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the delegates for their presentation and the thorough answers they have provided to the questions posed.

Dr. Foley-Nolan touched on the food poverty aspect of childhood obesity in low income areas. Has there been any discernible improvement in that regard? As a public representative, I represent socio-economically disadvantaged housing estates, lone parents, unemployed persons and so on. When they come to my constituency services, it is striking how many of their children are obese. Everything seems to be from a fast food outlet. There does not seem to have been any decline in my area; therefore, I do not think the message is getting home. That is not the fault of the delegates, but perhaps we need a more co-operative approach across the board between those involved in politics; education through schools, local authorities, NGOs and so forth.

Dr. Foley-Nolan mentioned "Operation Transformation". I watch television very little, but I have seen a few episodes of this programme. One in particular sticks out for me as a Kerry footballer was involved. Kids are the ones whom we need to target. Has anything like this been done with children as distinct from adults? It is when children are starting in secondary school that it is probably more obvious to an individual and more hurtful to him or her. Has any effort been made to produce something similar to "Operation Transformation" involving young people who have a tendency to look to their peers rather than adults? They expect adults to be fat or obese, which is accepted.

Have the delegates seen any improvement as a result of the school PE and exercise programme? What more could be done in that regard? Many schools, especially in more rural areas, are contending with a reduction in the number of teachers and one of the first things to fall by the wayside is the PE programme. Class sizes are continuing to go up and if teacher numbers are to be cut, they will be cut for what is perceived to be the least important subject, even though it may, in fact, be the most important.