Professor Cecily Kelleher:

We certainly need to implement it. We are all players here. We can give the committee the evidence. The policymakers can ensure the legislation follows through as is appropriate. I agree with everything that has been put on the record so far. As Dr. Murphy stated, every health professional should be trained to intervene early and efficiently. That is part of why we are doing this in the UCD college of health and agricultural sciences which I oversee. Every health professional in that is now engaged in a programme where they will be taught to intervene early and compassionately, as is appropriate. All along the spectrum, when a child sees the GP or public health nurse, the message needs to be in there. Some of this does not cost money but is about thinking about things differently.

There is no doubt that there are hard environmental issues which need to be tackled. We are in a sedentary and obesogenic environment. Accordingly, it is difficult to make the healthy choices. The individual can take 10,000 steps a day but it also has to be ensured there is adequate opportunity to take exercise, to walk freely and not get caught up in a congested car-polluted environment. These are all policy matters which support individuals making healthy choices. There are key points of intervention. Years ago, we undertook an evaluation of transition year students and the views of boys and girls around breastfeeding. The boys were enthusiastic about it. The girls not so much, the reason being that the girls recognised this was a practical thing that they needed to know how to do and how to engage with it properly. Every part of the education system, health system and the supporting areas needs to be proofed. That takes political will. We can advocate to the policymakers but we are not people who can do that. Professor O'Shea is correct in that one has to have systematic evidence. The smoking ban is a good example. We are a small country which can punch above its weight. We banned smoking outright in public places. I can give the committee Cochrane Review type international data which support that it has been highly effective across the globe in reducing exposure to passive smoke and hospital admissions, as well as influencing active smoking. We can get these things done, but we are all players in it.