Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, who is quite right when he says this issue should be broadened out. We should have a broader debate on health outcomes and supports for people in areas of socio-economic deprivation. There is no doubt that the location where a person lives is a determining factor in many health outcomes. Rates of obesity, dietary concerns and cancer, for example, vary by geographical area. The Minister of State referred to maternal depression. I do not believe it is beyond our capacity as a nation to recognise first and foremost that it is simply wrong for people's health outcomes to be predetermined by where they live. We should do everything in our power to address that issue. As the Minister of State suggested, when one scopes through this issue, one can identify the areas where resources should be put in place in the context of cancer and in the context of providing a platform whereby people have the supports and services around them.

Education is necessary to ensure people are aware of what is required to provide for their own health. There is no point in putting this in any other way. In many places in this country, basic skills like cooking, managing diets and handling household budgets are being lost. While we do not want to stereotype people, there is an inherent need for us to address these problems at a basic level. We need to ensure supports are in place to assist people who are vulnerable. They need to be helped to manage their own affairs and empowered to look after themselves and their families. While I hate burdening schools all the time by suggesting they are the answer, I think this issue starts in our schools. They need supports to allow people in communities to feel a sense of empowerment and look after their own destinies in areas like health and education. I refer to things that many of us take for granted on a daily basis. Yesterday's interesting Charles Cully lecture about the issues of health and well-being associated with the cancer gap is well worth reading. It highlights the huge inadequacies and inequalities that exist in our society.

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