Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their opening statements. They have been most informative. In some ways, they have been relevant in respect of what happened on a football pitch a few weeks ago in the match between Denmark and Finland. Everybody was shocked to see what happened to Christian Eriksen on the pitch. One of the best places that someone could suffer a heart attack is on a pitch in a football stadium because there is access to immediate care. Christian Eriksen seems to have made a speedy recovery. Other footballers and athletes have not been so lucky in such situations. The incident threw up many questions in respect of our own heart health. The fact that a professional footballer at the peak of his career can have a heart attack like that has sent shudders down the spines of most people who are healthy and going about their lives. Advancements in health, particularly in cardiac care and CPR, have saved lives. That is good.

I wish to address a number of points in the submission from the IHF. The first point concerns what the foundation describes as the scourge of junk food marketing. It is insidious in society. These companies are involved in extreme marketing that targets young people. They get into the heads of not only young people, but everyone. They tell them that they deserve the food they are marketing. Junk food is marketed as no being longer a treat, but as something to be consumed daily as part of a balanced diet. I ask one of the IHF representatives to comment on how we can address the scourge of advertisements. There are so many vested interests in fast food advertising. It is insidious.