Dáil debates

Thursday, 7 February 2019

Report of Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Motion

 

5:50 pm

Photo of Anne RabbitteAnne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I also want to be associated with the positive commentary this evening. I compliment Deputy Farrell on chairing the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs for the weeks and months it took to do its work. I also compliment all the committee members, who really put their hearts and souls into this report, along with the people who came before us week in and week out. Some days, we had double and treble sessions because we wanted to include so many people. We also must acknowledge the great amount of work done by the clerk to the committee and her team. It was necessary to gather a phenomenal amount of information to compile such a comprehensive report.

It can be seen from the recommendations that we delved into many spheres while compiling this report. We examined the areas of family, education, physical activity, public health and communication and advertising. We did not take a blinkered approach in this report but a helicopter view. Certain aspects stood out for me. One of those was vending machines, to which Deputies O'Loughlin, Mitchell and Farrell all have referred. I was astounded to hear vending machines made up an income stream for schools. I could not believe that was part of the income stream which helps to plug the gaps where schools cannot afford to keep basic functions going, yet that was stated to us.

What I found interesting in the presentation from the Department of Education and Skills is noted within the report on page 38:

The position of the Department of Education and Skills is that it does not intend to instruct schools to end the practice of having vending machines. As I mentioned in my opening statement, the Department has issued healthy lifestyle guidance to schools. Part of that is about schools having healthy eating policies and looking after the well-being of students so a school in having a vending machine needs to balance that.

Balance that with what? That statement made no sense whatsoever. There is no money message or anything else like that from this side of the House. I would like to ask the Department, therefore, could it please issue a circular stating vending machines are going to be banned? That is a positive step that could be done straight away at no cost to the Exchequer. It would bring about, however, a great improvement in the well-being of the children in those schools.

Teachers of home economics were another important group of people to come before the committee, as well as the people who travelled down from St. Angela's College in Sligo. It is wonderful to hear the Joint Committee on Education and Skills came up with exactly the same proposal. I refer to ensuring home economics was provided to least the level of the junior certificate cycle. That would be so welcome. When the people from St. Angela's were before us, they went so far as to explain they have gone into national schools in Sligo. They told us how they were able to meet the requirements of health and safety by using equipment that could be rolled in and out on a trolley.

They could then use the equipment in speaking about making good smoothies or pancakes, while still ticking all of the boxes required under health and safety etc. The representatives from St. Angela's also told the committee how they went out into the community in their area to deliver healthy eating plans. We must consider the wealth of knowledge possessed by teachers of home economics and how powerful a grouping they are. They are a resource that really needs to be tapped into in every community. They are in every community and school.

A positive outcome would be if it was made mandatory for young people up to junior certificate level. It is a wonderful skill to have.

On sports and physical activities which were covered in recommendations Nos. 5 to 7, inclusive, I do not mean to reiterate the contents of the report, but we all know that a certain number of schools do not tick those boxes. We can do something within local government, however, in planning to tick the boxes of physical activity.

I endorse a suggestion made at the committee related to Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, upgrading roads in communities, particularly off national routes. I made reference to the N63 in County Galway where TII was upgrading approximately 3 km of the road. I asked why, in the name of God, the road could not be lit. TII built a path, but it did not install lighting. It is a prime example. When we are rolling out critical infrastructure that will be in place for many years, it should be rolled out in an holistic fashion in order that everybody can use it day or night with safe access. That needs to happen because unless we start to examine tackling obesity in the round and Departments stop operating in silos, we will not address certain aspects because we will not have the funding to provide a hall in every small village. In Abbeyknockmoy, if the lighting had been installed, people would have been able to walk approximately 5 km from one area to another. Children could cycle or walk, while older people or those with disabilities could be out and about, but that cannot happen when the lights are turned off in the evening. There must be both a whole-of-government and a whole-of-community approach to how we tackle obesity.

One problem I noted was related to advertising. I am very much on the record in respect of "The Big Big Movie". The Minister of State spoke about hitting fats, sugars and soft drinks, as well as target audiences. There is a target audience at 6 p.m. on a Saturday when families sit down together. It is prime advertising for a fast food outlet to advertise to and target young children who are watching whatever the latest movie is. That is wrong. In 2019, therefore, I will introduce a Bill on broadcasting and public health advertising that will examine critically how target marketing at young people for fast food will be addressed. The need for the Bill follows the publication of the report because, as Deputy Mitchell eloquently noted, voluntary codes do not work and companies do not adhere to them. As legislators, we must say we have given them the benefit of the doubt and the opportunity, that they have not taken it on board and that, therefore, we will come down heavily on them and pass legislation to address the matter.

Another issue that concerned me was related to weighing, which was the subject of many of the conversations during the committee sessions. Some of my conversations may have been taken out of context, but I wanted weighing to be a part of the entire approach. When I discussed weighing, I was referring to the measurement of flexibility, mobility and weight and meant that we should gather data, which we do not do. Children are weighed in third class and when they are under the age of six years. One amazing aspect that emerged from the committee report was that we did gather data in third class, although we did not discuss it. We should, however, gather data consistently because how else will we plan for the future? How can we plan and how will we know what our needs are if we do not gather these data? I am not specifying where the data should be gathered, but we need to have a conversation on the collection of data.

I do not mean to criticise the report because I am glad that it addressed the issue. It states:

The JCCYA notes that the evidence presented by witnesses suggests that there are divergent views with regard to the weighing of children . Given this divergence of views, the JCCYA is not in a position to definitely conclude that the introduction of such a practice is warranted. On this basis, the JCCYA suggests that the Government should actively explore the means by which data could be collected in this regard, while ensuring that best practice based on clinical advice is taken into account.

That sums the issue up well and leaves the conversation open. It means that there is capacity and scope to discuss it further. I am happy with the report, the production of which was a fruitful and worthwhile exercise. I, too, would like to see its recommendations implemented, rather than being left on the shelf.

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