Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I think Deputy Durkan is right. It is important to say that a healthy diet does not exclude any food group, but it does mean we need to be eating more fruit and vegetables. It is also important to turn to what the Department of Education is doing through the SPHE and well-being programmes. We have the Food Dudes programme, where children are introduced to healthy eating and get packages of fruit and vegetables. Incredible Edibles is another programme as well. The FSAI is also working on food-based guidelines for teenagers. These are being developed now. The Deputy, therefore, is absolutely right that this type of policy needs to be targeted at children. This is one of the areas we are working on here at the moment. Additionally, at EU level, Ireland is working with 15 other member states on resources around marketing for children. It is an EU-co-ordinated approach using the WHO nutrient profile model, NPM, for the identification of foods not permitted for marketing to children. I refer to looking at those specific kinds of foods. Work is also being done on codes of practice to reduce unhealthy food marketing. A report on a pilot EU-wide harmonised and comprehensive monitoring protocol for unhealthy food marketing is also being worked on.

The Deputy is absolutely correct that this is around ensuring we are raising awareness of healthy eating from a very young age and it is very important to get into the schools to do this. The Food Dudes programme is run through the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. We also have our schools meals programme as well. The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, has rolled this out and expanded it across the country. All these areas contribute to getting the message out about what healthy eating is. It is important to say that we must enjoy food as well. It is not about taking out specific food groups but, as the Deputy said, portions and healthy eating.