James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The House will forgive me for a degree of repetition, as we have dealt with this already to some extent. As Members know, as Minister for Health, I have made excess weight and obesity a public health priority and have established a special action group on obesity, SAGO, with which I meet regularly to make further progress on the obesity agenda. SAGO comprises key stakeholders and is chaired by my Department. The range of measures being implemented by my Department seeks to promote a healthy lifestyle, to encourage people to make healthier food choices, to become more active and to take the first steps towards reducing obesity. SAGO is working on a combination of priority actions which, taken together, should make a difference in the long term. These measures include the following: calorie posting in restaurants; healthy eating guidelines; addressing the marketing of food and drink to children; treatment algorithms; opportunistic screening and monitoring for excess weight and obesity; addressing the issue of vending machines in schools; and a physical action plan. SAGO is also currently examining ways to promote healthy eating in accordance with this Department's healthy eating guidelines.

As I said earlier, during our Presidency we had an informal meeting at which childhood excess weight and obesity was a key element.

The European Union is drafting an action plan for member states to take this work forward.

Healthy Ireland, a framework for improved health and well-being, forms the basis of how a whole-Government and whole-society approach to health and well-being will be delivered. It sets out 64 actions under a number of thematic areas which provide for the development of inter-sectoral and cross-Government plans to address risk factors and social determinants of health. It provides a structured mechanism to engage all different sectors of society to channel measures and actions around individual health and lifestyle issues, and to measure, monitor and evaluate implementation.

Healthy Ireland describes supportive mechanisms to ensure effective co-operation between the health sector and other areas of Government and public services concerned with social protection, children, industry, food safety, education, transport, housing, agriculture and the environment. The implementation of Healthy Ireland is now focused on the development of an outcomes framework and a physical activity plan. In this regard the health and well-being programme in the Department of Health will work closely with relevant policy divisions in the Department of Health and with existing cross-Government and cross-sectoral groups, such as the strategic action group on obesity, SAGO. We have, for the first time, a director of health and well-being, Dr. Stephanie O'Keeffe.

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