Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is a large area. We have probably only touched on a small part of it. We could discuss the food people get in hospital after having serious operations. Even if they were healthy, they would not be able to eat some of the food offered in a number of our public hospitals.

I am glad that some members touched on the question of poverty. The mortality rate of someone who is poor is twice that of someone who is wealthy. Most of us have disadvantaged areas in our constituencies. In the local shop, there will be brown food, processed food, two-for-ones, sugary food, etc. We might touch on this issue with the next group that will appear before us. It poses a major challenge, which is why we were asking about the role of companies. The Minister of State mentioned a task force that had been set up, a reduction of 10% in saturated fat between 2015 and 2025, a reduction in our salt, sugar and caloric intake, etc. Are we on track to meet those targets? The roadmap will end in 2025. Is there a sense of how it stands now?

We have not touched on the fact that there are many people out there who do not know how to cook. Twenty years ago, I visited a group of young mothers in Brookview in my constituency. They discussed basic issues like nursing their children, but also boiling eggs, how to cook and simple things like that. I was shocked by the number of people who did not know how to cook. For many families, this is intergenerational.

People were talking about processed food, takeaways and so on. If your parents are in that lifestyle, it more than likely you are going to be in that lifestyle. It is very hard to break that cycle and the only way to do so is through education. That is how any lifestyle changes come about. We need to inform people, tell them and show them. There is an idea of a nanny state telling people to do this or that. The simplest way is to try to convince people there are alternatives there. It is about giving people alternatives, sampling other foods and showing them how to cook them.

Another thing was highlighted in the trip to the North. In many cases, we talk about people who are overweight and there could be medical or other reasons for it. When people look for support, it is not there in many cases. We did not touch today on the idea of people travelling abroad to try to get help for their weight, and we have heard about all the problems that exist. On a previous occasion when the Minister of State was before the committee, I mentioned a constituent of mine who is termed "obese". He lost one leg. It is a genetic matter. He recently lost the other leg and to get a prosthetic for his second leg, he needed to lose weight. He was told that to get into an obesity clinic, he would have to wait for between five and seven years. I spoke to the Minister for Health and he got the same reply. He was told it would take six years. I spoke to the Taoiseach, who said it was totally unacceptable. I got the same response, which was that it is a matter for the Minister for Health. We are saying there is help out there and there is, but the idea that someone would have to wait for five or seven years to get into a clinic is absolutely appalling in a supposedly modern country in the 21st century. There is a lot we can do.

I have touched on large areas relating to poverty, what we eat and what is on sale in shops, but the main thing is that we need to change people's attitudes to food by showing them that there are alternatives and showing them the basics of how to cook and move towards a healthier lifestyle. There is no reason why anyone should be hungry in this country but there are children who are going to bed hungry at night time. A lot of that is down to the fact that people do not know how to cook. There are simple things you can do with vegetables but many people do not know what to do in that regard. I have raised a couple of issues there on which the Minister of State might come back. I will allow Deputy Shortall to come back in at the end.