Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

People on the other side of the House accepted and agreed that this was completely unfair. Had a code been in operation at that time, I am certain the programme would not have been broadcast before the election. While the programme doubtless was made with RTE's support, it was one of the first Irish political events to be dramatised since I entered this House. It pertained to a highly sensitive subject about which the man in question, Deputy Noonan, had apologised to the McCole family several times, having made a comment in the Dáil that really was directed against the barristers representing Mrs. McCole at that time. However, Deputy Noonan accepted the comment should not have been made. It was a dark day for RTE when it dramatised the event and broadcast it in a very unbalanced fashion before the election. Hopefully this Bill will ensure that will never happen again to any party in this House.

I will turn to section 42(4), which provides that the BAI will prepare and regularly update an advertising code pertaining to matters likely to be of direct or indirect interest to children, having particular regard to children's general public health interests. This relates in particular to the question of obesity and advertising that might encourage youngsters to eat energy-dense foods that lead to obesity. I wish to raise a few issues regarding this section. I have been highlighting the issue of obesity in this House for years and did so at a time when the subject was rarely mentioned in the media. As a former teacher I had noted the profile of youngsters growing heavier, which evidently was due to a lack of exercise and eating too much food. However, I am unsure whether this provision will have the desired effect. Much food that is advertised to young people is necessary. Moreover, the industry should be aware that it can advertise healthy food to young people. It should be acceptable for companies to advertise food with a high nutritional element, the use of fruit in the diet, for example, or what we consider to be essential healthy foods such as vegetables, milk, fish or chicken. On the one hand we have the HSE and others promoting the food pyramid and on the other, even foods recommended in the pyramid will not be advertised. I remember reading an article some time ago in the Irish Farmers' Journal which indicated cheese got the red light in England because of the level of salt in it. It was argued that cheese is bad for a person. Parents in this country would not advise their children that cheese was bad for them and it is generally highly recommended in the diets of youngsters.

According to criteria that may be set out in this, cheese could be a food whose advertising would be prohibited. I urge much caution on this. From speaking to people in the industry, there appears to have been very little consultation with the food industry in the development of this section of the Bill. Its representatives feel there should certainly have been more consultation. The food industry in Ireland is worth approximately €20 billion and over 48,000 people are directly employed in the sector. Although this provision will not affect all those people, it is of major importance.

The industry should have at least been consulted on this provision but apparently it was not. Will the Minister of State refer to this in his response? I am sure his adviser will know if these people were consulted. Some of the groups mentioned this in contact with me and I am sure we all got the same information.

There is a point that if advertisers cannot advertise locally and nationally, they will do so through Sky and other media channels outside our jurisdiction and which we cannot control. This section should be considered again and the people writing the code should be careful of the types of food they proscribe. They should also be aware that advertisers will probably go elsewhere.

The banning of advertising of certain food items while leaving the advertising of alcohol untouched has been mentioned by many other speakers. As far as I am concerned, alcohol is far more damaging and threatening to the health of young people than certain foods.

The issue of obesity takes in much more than just food, as young people should be encouraged to eat smaller portions. There is also the issue of exercise and several agencies have been set up to consider inactivity and obesity across the country. It is kind of a buzz word and the HSE is putting out regular bulletins on it.

Young people are doing less exercise and, for example, they do not walk or cycle to school any more. Young people rarely cycle to school because parents drop them off for various reasons. The element of physical activity in their daily life is getting smaller. At one time many youngsters in this country lived on farms in the country and their daily chores involved lifting water buckets, bringing in turf or going to the meadow or garden during the summer. All of that has now been taken from people's lives.

Addressing the issue of obesity in this section by making a song and dance about it will not significantly reduce the levels of obesity. Research by the Irish Universities Nutrition Alliance indicates that the main drivers of obesity in children are consumption of inappropriate portion sizes — they are too big — and lack of physical activity.

I did a survey across the country a few years ago which found that only 28% of primary and secondary schools from a sample of approximately 1,500 had indoor physical education facilities suitable for class. In the bad weather we get most of the time, this means no physical education is possible in some schools. As a result, if the young people are not elite athletes involved in the local club, they do no exercise. I agree with the research carried out by the Irish Universities Nutrition Alliance and wish to emphasise the point.

In France there is a general ban on the televising of alcohol products, which is broadly seen as successful. In Norway and Sweden, advertising to the public of all alcoholic beverages above a particular alcohol content is completely prohibited, with a similar ban in Italy. There was a proposal to ban alcohol advertising by a previous Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Micheál Martin, but this was subsequently abandoned because of the apparent pressure put on him from the alcohol industry. Perhaps the Minister will look at the code and consider including alcohol.

The advertising of alcohol products is quite effective — there is a current advertisement using the term "cáca milis" — and it can connect with young people even more than food advertising. From that point of view, drink is a bigger threat in many ways than food advertising.

Another issue brought to my attention is the use of Irish bands, folk groups and performers on national television shows, radio stations and so on. There are some very angry people out there in the folk and Irish country scene at this time. I do not meet too many of them but I have met some. People have contacted us on this issue, such as Danny McCarthy, whom the Minister of State may know. These people are very disappointed with the level of coverage they get from RTE which, for example, controls four radio stations and provides a wide spectrum of music cover. These people feel they are not getting a look in, although they may use harder language. They feel that they entertain people across the length and breadth of the country, providing entertainment for people in the 32 counties. They play small and large venues and people listen to them. They would not be on the road unless they attracted audiences and it paid them. The national broadcaster will not play their music. If people are out there listening to these performers and enjoying the music, surely they would enjoy the music on radio as well. A music forum should be set up or perhaps there should be some provision in this Bill for some kind of a consultative group. I do not know if such a provision exists in the Bill. If a group was established it could listen to the concerns of these people, who are in ways the heartbeat of this country. At times they represent a certain type of Irishness that still has a big audience. These people are major contributors to the Irish economy, whereas much of the material played on RTE's 2FM, for example, could be from artists not from this country at all and who may make no contribution. Will the Minister address some of these points?

Speaking to some presenters on RTE about the Brendan Shines of this country, they might tell us they are old hat and people turn that music off. The population, particularly the older population, does not switch it off. This is the type of material older people like. I hope this issue will be addressed as a result of the proposed extension of the public service remit of RTE and TG4 and the provision of proper resources.

The funding available to Lyric FM was recently reduced and the station is strapped for cash. This year marks the bicentenary of the birth of Michael William Balfe. Unfortunately, Lyric FM's outside broadcasting unit is unable, for financial reasons, to record a number of major events which have been arranged to celebrate the occasion. This will be a major loss in terms of making programmes which could be archived and stored for posterity.

This year also marks the bicentenary of the publication of Moore's melodies. Thomas Moore, through his poetry and ballads, probably did more for the Irish emigrant than any other Irish composer or writer of ballads. Written in the early part of the 19th century, his songs were sung in America and elsewhere. However, funding is not available to arrange an event in the National Concert Hall to mark the occasion. In addition, those who are visiting various parts of the country to promote the bicentenary have not received funding.

I welcome the provision to increase funding for independent broadcasting, with €40 million the minimum amount RTE must spend on independent production. As someone who has benefited considerably under RTE's independent production unit, IPU, having been involved in the production of eight documentaries on Kerry writers and one documentary on Kerry football, I thank the IPU and specifically Claire Duignan for being so receptive, helpful and encouraging when approached with solid proposals. Without support from the IPU, important documentaries would never have been made on Kerry football and writers such as George Fitzmaurice featuring people who knew him, including Bryan McMahon, John B. Keane, Tom McGreevy, Con Houlihan and one or two others.

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