Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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Deputy Rabbitte covered many matters I wanted to cover. I will address the school environment. In my constituency, we have schools that are surrounded by McDonald's, chippers, pubs and betting shops. As legislators, we need to look at what example we are setting our children in the school environment. On schools and funding in schools, what liaison have they with the Department of Education and Skills because the schools in my area have no canteen facilities? What we see is at a certain time hoards of children traipsing across the road to all these facilities. Should we be looking for the Department to make grants available to schools so that there can be a healthy eating option in the schools?

Do the witnesses have much liaison with school boards of management? Particularly when we talk about the vending machine, Ms Morrissey hit the nail on the head. We are educating these children about nutrition and it is a do-not-say-as-you-do attitude where we allow them out then to fill up on vending machines. Is there any policy of schools providing alternative healthy vending machines? Will we try to make this available to schools to do with a grant option? I have noticed that even water stations are not provided in schools. Why is that so? It is something that would not cost much for a school. I wonder what sort of correspondence the Irish Heart Foundation is having with the Department and boards of management on the matter.

I might ask about food advertisements. Deputy Rabbitte touched on this. I am a parent of three young children. Saturday night is a time where children are sitting down enjoying television and the next thing is they are bombarded with every junk food and sweet advertisement. I note the Irish Heart Foundation criticised the voluntary code from the Department of Health aimed at regulating food advertising to children and I ask Mr. Macey to outline why the foundation feels that the voluntary code was ineffective.

On another point to Parents Plus, in how many areas is its programme rolled out? How do people in particular areas get to hear about Parents Plus?