Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue for the Topical Issues debate. I was listening to questions to the Minister for Health earlier and this issue was raised. It was also raised in the House last night.

My interest springs from my background as a primary teacher. The problem of childhood obesity, which will progress to adult obesity in the future, is for this generation what tuberculosis, TB, was for my grandparents' generation. It is probably the biggest public health issue facing this country in the long term. It is important that we tackle it for a number of reasons. My suggestion to the Minister is to examine the concept of putting a personality in place to lead a campaign on the issue. Consider our experience of putting a personality such as Gay Byrne in the Road Safety Authority and the work he has done in raising public awareness and bringing the public with him, in a non-political and non-confrontrational manner. People across the spectrum respect him.

Obesity is an issue of great importance from a public health point of view and given that a quarter of all three year olds at present are either overweight or obese, it is not a matter we can afford to put on the back burner. In 1990, one in ten Irish men was either overweight or obese. The figure is now one in four. This problem is being tracked and it is progressing. Even the OECD has put Ireland centre stage in tracking obesity in a suite of countries. Ireland is on an upward trend while countries such as the United States and New Zealand are on a downward trend. They are making huge strides in their efforts to deal with this. The personality entrusted with much of the work on this by the United States is the First Lady. She has taken the initiative, through her position in the White House, to do something as simple as encouraging people to eat healthily, especially people with the socioeconomic backgrounds that might not necessarily give them the skill base to deal with this issue.

Diabetes is currently costing the State approximately €4 billion per year, and Type 2 diabetes is a killer disease. For this generation, it must be tackled in the same way as smoking was tackled previously. In the case of cancer, we have the National Cancer Registry. I complimented Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan last night on the Private Members' motion she tabled with her colleagues in the Technical Group regarding stroke. The problem of obesity will not go away. While RTE is to be complimented on the topical issue it has brought to the airwaves this month and last month in the programme "Operation Transformation", we need that on a 12 month basis.

We also need a personality who will hold to account the Department of Health, the HSE and the other Government Departments. This is not just a matter for the Department of Health, and responsibility for it does not just rest with the Minister. It is also a matter for the Departments of Education and Skills; Transport, Tourism and Sport; Social Protection; Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation; and Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. All have a role in this in terms of changing the lifestyle in the country.

Earlier, the Minister answered a question on this matter from my colleague, Deputy Buttimer. This is not about levying taxes or imposing a sugar tax, although that might very well be part of it. There is corporate responsibility here as well on the part of the games industry. Children and young adults get a new game for Christmas - I will not mention the names of the games - and spend their time in front of the television. It encourages them to be addictive. They think that by playing a game they will get active in some way. Instead, they are sitting in front of a television morning, noon and night. There has been a cultural shift in this country in terms of activity and what we expect from our young people.

A national advocate or tzar would have the moral authority to go to the Department of Education and Skills and demand that it consider giving youngsters the option of taking physical education as an examination subject in the junior certificate. There is also the option of taking it as an examination subject in the leaving certificate and getting points for it. At present, many children are facing huge psychological problems due to their weight. This is a huge problem in social media as well. They do not appear to have an outlet whereby they can focus their attention on dealing with this in a manner in which it will make a real difference to their lives.

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