Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Dr. O'Malley mentioned the sugar tax. Obviously its efficacy remains to be seen. Does she think we need to have a sugar tax on more of the items available in shops? Experts have said that if there is one item we should tax, it would be sugar-sweetened drinks. The big effect of that, even in advance of the tax's implementation, is the reformulation. A lot less sugar is going into foods because at the end of the day, these companies want to sell their products. It is all about profits. At the same time, there are still super-sugary milk drinks. God forbid we touch the dairy industry in Ireland but where do we go with this? As policy makers and regulators, there is only so much we can do without creating a complete nanny state.