Mr. Karl Henry:

From my perspective, I will tie in with what both Dr. Murphy and Dr. Orsmond said. We are here to represent "Operation Transformation" as a brand, an entity, and something that in the past six years has got the nation moving in an increasingly bigger way every year. We have seen that in terms of the responses to the information we put on the website, which is available all year round. We have seen it also in terms of the viewing figures for the show, which are now close to 600,000.

"Operation Transformation" has been so successful because we keep it simple. That is one of the key components we came here today to discuss with members. It is fantastic to get to talk at a forum but often the message gets lost in translation, picking on one element of society or another. The reality is that our seven-point plan is a multi-factorial process to get people fit and healthy.

On "Operation Transformation" we looked at children, and Step it Up is the campaign we used. We kept it simple and got the results. It was nothing to do with sports. It was giving children a goal and a method to achieve that goal, measured by the teachers or the parents, and they succeeded in reaching it.

With regard to adult obesity, we built a website and showed people how to cook food and exercise. We asked them to walk three times a week. We gave them a goal of a 5 km run in eight weeks and a training plan with which to achieve those goals.

The show has 600,000 viewers. It is the single biggest health programme Ireland has ever had, and it is getting more popular every year for one reason - we are more unhealthy and heavier than ever before. People want help. They want the message and the knowledge. We do not get lost in translation. We promote simple messages that work. That is the reason the show is successful. We believe our seven-point plan will be successful for the same reason; it is simple, effective, and easy to implement and measure. We are giving people the tools to succeed on a multi-factorial level. It does involve the schools and the parents.

Everybody in society has to change through whatever structure. We believe that children are the key to this change. They will be the Senators and TDs ten, 20, 30 or 40 years from now. They will be sitting in committees such as this one. Will they be heavier than the people we see here today or not? That depends on the legislation we put in place in the coming years.

We are here to present our seven-point plan on behalf of the show. It will work. We have shown members footage. They may have sat through presentations in the past and listened to fantastic statistics. We did not do that. We kept it simple and visual. We showed members the results of our progress. We have five fantastic leaders who have literally transformed the nation through their progress by using simple techniques and tools. They cooked healthier and better food. They set goals with Dr. Murphy and, from my perspective, they moved a little more.

This is not a quick-fix solution; it is a long-term solution. We have proved that it works, and we used visuals today to show members that. The proof is on the screens. The key aspect is not to get caught up in too much talk because the message gets lost in translation. By keeping it simple we have proved this works, and we have shown that to members. We hope that because we are keeping it simple, one or more of our seven-point plans might be in place by this time next year when we can come back here and pat all the members on the back for the fantastic job they did in implementing one or more of those measures. If we get one of those over the line we believe we will have healthier, happier children but also a healthier, happier nation. If members want proof of that I ask them to come to our 5 km run next Saturday week, where they will see 5,000 people who were sitting on the couch eight weeks ago. We gave them a goal and the tools to achieve that goal. Members should come along on the day to see the feeling of pride and emotion when those people cross the line, and how happy they have become over the course of an eight-week timeframe. The results are there for all to see, and we hope members take something from that.