Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I confirm that I am in Leinster House. It was great to see Deputy John Paul Phelan on the Leinster House campus yesterday. It has been well reported that he had cardiac health problems. It is great to see him back looking in full health. I wish him plenty of good health in the months ahead.

Events in the past week highlighted the need for greater screening in cardiac care. It was shocking to see Christian Eriksen collapse on the pitch while playing for his country and everything that followed. It is good that he is making a recovery in hospital. One of the statistics in the opening statements is that up to 60% of Irish people are now considered to be obese or overweight. What happened to Christian Eriksen needs to be closely considered because it could be of relevance to several people in my network of friends and acquaintances alone. When persons who are overweight they visit their doctor, more often than not, they are told to stand on the scales and their blood pressure is checked. There are kind of warning signs there already. The very fact that they are carrying excess weight puts them at a high risk. However, many people who jog the roads every day, do triathlons or play team sports and look the picture of health could have blockages in their arteries or their heart may not be firing properly and they may need a pacemaker. Such issues are not always detected. When such people go to a doctor or other health professional, it is often the case that they are looked over but not considered to be particularly high risk. Is there a way to get more of those people into the net? Running has become more than a fad in recent years. Every evening, a significant number of people go running and put their bodies under pressure. Are we focusing very much on those who are obviously in poor health and morbidly obese or very overweight to the detriment of those who appear to be in good health?