Dr. Norah Campbell:

I thank Deputy Munster. I will start at the end and go through the questions as expeditiously as possible. With regard to the nutrient profile model, I am not an epidemiologist or nutritionist but I would say that several civic society and public bodies are in favour of the WHO nutrient profile model. It was favoured by the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs in 2018. I am not an expert but believe we should be using a profiling system that is endorsed by independent nutrition experts and not sponsored by the food industry. We need to get our best scientific version of it. This seems to be the WHO nutrient profile model.

Let me talk about the concept of a moratorium as a pilot. I mentioned this in my submission but I did not have time to address it in my opening statement. Again, I am not a professor of jurisprudence but believe that having a ban on all junk food advertising online could be seen by many to be excessive. A trial would mean that there would be a time-bound approach, involving a period of five years, for example, whereby we would effect a ban and determine the consequences. If we do not believe in trying other approaches, we will be stuck in a policy loop in which we are constantly delayed in what we do. I note, and the Deputy and many of her colleagues will probably note, that we have voluntary codes on online junk food marketing to children. These started to be developed in multi-stakeholder working groups in 2016 or at the end of 2015. They were lodged in February 2018. Owing to one delay after the next, they have still not been enacted. We need to be able to trial things first; otherwise, we will be stuck in a constant loop. I note there was an interim report on the Government's obesity action plan a couple of months ago. It shows that the figures have not changed so there is going to be another report and a review of that report. My proposal, therefore, is to ban first and then use the ban as a natural experiment to determine the results economically and for the physical health of children, etc.

Maybe I have taken up a lot of time. Therefore, I will leave the last question unless I am encouraged to go on.