Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the delegates for their attendance. I am sorry for hopping in and out of the meeting. I was supposed to be in the Dáil Chamber on two occasions, but I missed out on both.

I welcome everything that has been said about addressing the needs of patients who have suffered a stroke, have a heart condition or general health issues. Advertising is hugely important and has been mentioned. Many people are not reached by certain advertisements. Where is an advertiser likely to reach the most people in a single room at one time?

It is the workplace. There are many institutions with huge numbers of employees and some have their own health awareness programmes, as we used to in Leinster House every two or three years, although it has not happened in the past ten years. Every staff member was checked on every aspect of his or her health and quite a number of issues turned up, of which people had not been aware. It brought to our attention the fact that many in the workplace spent their days in schools with large numbers of people who were in a position to spread the word if they had availed of a check-up. There was dietary advice and advice on stroke and heart conditions. Those who attended always say how important and informative they were and how easy they were to follow. Insufficient information is placed in the public arena to warn people of issues, of which they should be aware. There is no point telling somebody he or she has had a serious heart attack or a stroke or that he or she has diabetes. They could be controlled to a huge extent if information and check-ups were made available. The Chairman can organise them for staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas. They took two weeks and proved immensely effective in identifying issues.