Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I thought for a moment that he was going to mention all 93 proposals for dealing with obesity. I would like to mention same relevant facts relating to obesity. Some 18% of adults are obese and 39% of adults are overweight. In health terms, the problems of overweight and obesity contribute to many illnesses, including cardiovascular disease and psychological disorders. I welcome what the Minister of State has said. One should not write off the economic costs against the health costs, which are much more significant. The economic cost of the problems I have mentioned is approximately €400 million per annum. I would like the Minister of State to tell the House what has happened to the proposal to provide for positive discrimination in favour of healthy products when grants and funding are being provided to local industry. While I welcome the "food dude" initiative and the proposal to supply additional milk to school children, etc., much more can be done in such respects. What has happened to the proposal to provide for positive discrimination? How many companies are involved in the proposal? What is the outcome of the proposal in terms of production levels?

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