Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will be as brief as I can. My question is specifically for Parents Plus but might be addressed by all the witnesses. The witnesses mentioned pester power. I do not know about others but when I go into a garage on an odd occasion, if I get something sugary, staff will ask if another is wanted because it will only be 20 cent dearer. They pester people, which is very frustrating. On the junk food deals in supermarkets, I am of the view, and know there is much resistance to this, that we should not allow those marketing tools to be used. People are walking out of shops with much more junk food than they intended to have because they are on deals and store cupboards are stocked with the stuff. That is something we could do but it would probably be unpopular.

Special occasions are something Deputy Neville touched on when Dr. Keating was answering her questions. Special occasions are not as rare as they used to be when I was young. I have had parents say to me that sugary drinks could be allowed at every party and sometimes the children are at three parties over a weekend. There is a party bonanza going on among younger people. I am all for partying but if it means one must consume one's body weight in junk to get through a weekend, it is clearly a big problem. Should schools have more of a voluntary code suggesting that people born at a certain stage in a month should party together and not have so many parties? I sound like a total killjoy again.