Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Independent)

I wish to share time with Deputy Mary Wallace.

I welcome this debate. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Brady, who has responsibility for obesity. Indeed, in her preamble, she outlined the frightening increase in obesity and its related dangers.

Urgent action needs to be taken. There is an epidemic of obesity sweeping the country. We can sit here and talk at length but, unfortunately, talking is not of any use at present. The following startling statistics, if put in front of the House, might clarify all our thoughts.

There are over 4,000 deaths every year in this country from obesity-related illnesses. If that was in any other sphere, for example, road traffic accidents, there would be justifiable public outrage. With 4,000 deaths every year from obesity-related illnesses, what are we doing about it?

Thirty years ago the weight of our children was average in comparison to those in Europe. Today, we have the fattest children in Europe. It is frightening. That is a time bomb which is building up and which will explode in all our faces, and particularly, unfortunately, in the health of our children as they mature into teenagers and young adults.

On a specific point, Professor Donal O'Shea, who was the medical adviser to "Operation Transformation" and is probably the leading weight-loss expert in the country, has a clinic in St. Colmcille's in Loughlinstown and St. Vincent's Hospital in Dublin. That, to my knowledge, is the only clinic trying to deal with the whole country. We need extra clinics.

I have been informed that the operations carried out for the morbidly obese, that is, those who are in severe danger of losing their lives due to obesity, have not been carried out since 1 January. There are approximately 400 of these operations needed every year in this country. I ask the Minister of State to inquire as to why there have been no operations carried out since January.

The task force to which she alluded is a good one. It has published over 90 recommendations. Significant progress has been made in respect of 30 of them, partial implementation has been achieved in respect of 29 and action is progressing on a further 26, leaving only eight where little progress was reported. Stripping away all the fine language, it means that out of 90 recommendations, there are approximately 30 on which there is decent progress being made. That is not good enough and it must be improved. It really is too easy to pay lip-service to this time bomb which is in our society.

I will outline briefly what I want to see done. We need action on two areas. The first of these is curative. For those who, unfortunately, have obesity-related problems, let us have a HSE clinic in each of the four HSE areas so that the load is spread all over the country. Second, we need an immediate resumption of the publicly-funded operations for those who need gastric by-passes.

On the preventative side, they say prevention is much better than cure and I would argue it will be cost neutral. First, let us all increase our exercise. Some of the Members who participated in "Operation Transformation" are present in the House. There is Deputy O'Dowd, who has——

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