Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 11 October 2012

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children

Childhood Obesity: Discussion (Resumed)

11:40 am

Mr. Shane Dempsey:

I have very little to add. The members will not have seen too many traffic lights on produce in the Irish market because guideline daily amounts are ubiquitous here. It is worth noting the FSAI has lobbied for front-of-packet guideline daily amounts.

I share Dr. Foley-Nolan's view that the time for action is now. There are many solutions, and we have all suggested them. The members need to identify in their report the actions that need to be taken and they need to prioritise them. From our perspective, a priority is establishing the Live Well platform. There are four or five clear and key activities that must be stress-tested for use. Industry is ready to go.