Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I just have a few additional questions. Firstly, what would be the consortium's explicit guidance to the population on the level of daily supplements they should be taking?

Secondly, given the data the consortium has provided showing 70% of people, especially in Dublin, are vitamin D deficient, how long would it take a person taking their daily dose to sufficiently build up his or her immunity?

My third question relates to a point Professor Kenny made earlier which I did not fully follow. The other day I happened to meet somebody who was coming from having his prescription filled for a monthly capsule. I was surprised by this as I had not come across monthly capsules. Has the consortium a view on daily, monthly or weekly supplements? Is there any difference? Furthermore, is there any difference between tablets and capsules?

I will finish by making two points. The point about wild versus farmed salmon is very interesting and certainly news to me. There are not many people who have the opportunity to eat wild salmon these days. It is thus important to get across the message that people are not getting vitamin D to any extent from farmed salmon, which is standard.

The other point is positive. I was in a Boots branch recently stocking up on vitamin D for myself and my family and I had difficulty getting it at sufficiently strong doses. The shop assistant told me it is flying off the shelves and they cannot keep it in stock. This is a very good sign. People will often just vote with their feet; they can be very sensible about being active in maintaining their own health. Of course the point has been made by many people that much of the population does not hear those health messages because they are not coming out clearly enough. Equally, much of the population is not in a position to afford it. We must therefore be very clear that there must be Government intervention as well as strong public health advice. I would appreciate it if those few questions could be answered.