Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Minister that the fact that we are discussing this issue is positive and contributes to an airing of the issues involved. This is an enormous challenge, beyond anything we do here and at government level because of the influences and pressures exerted from outside. The pressure young people, particularly young girls, are being exposed to in order to conform to a certain image that has no bearing on reality is immense.

Since my daughter started secondary school, I have really noticed the different pressures, the emergence of friends with eating disorders and the focus on how one looks. We have to be really conscious of those issues. It is a question of having confidence in diversity. If every Government Department could use positive role models, it would be the beginning of an effort to be quite constructive.

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