Dáil debates

Wednesday, 15 February 2012

4:00 pm

Photo of Patrick O'DonovanPatrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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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.

Photo of Róisín ShortallRóisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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I thank Deputy O'Donovan for raising this issue. The global epidemic of obesity is a major public health problem throughout Europe, and 61% of Irish adults are now overweight or obese. The high levels of obesity in all age groups of the Irish population are increasing. It is not just a problem for adults but we now have the dreadful situation where one in four children is overweight or obese. That will pose huge challenges for the health service in coming years.

During 2011 the Minister for Health established a special action group on obesity, chaired by the Department of Health and comprising representatives of other Government Departments, the HSE, the FSAI and Safefood/. Its remit is to examine and progress, in a cross-sectoral approach, a number of issues to address the complex and multi-factoral problem of obesity. No single initiative will reverse the trend, but a combination of measures should make a difference.

The special action group is concentrating on a specific range of measures, including healthy eating guidelines for the Irish population; restricting the marketing of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt to children; nutritional labelling; calorie posting on restaurant menus; the promotion of physical activity and the detection and treatment of obesity. As part of the work plan of this group, earlier this month the Minister launched a national consultation to seek opinions on the best way to put calorie information on menus in Ireland. The consultation will close on 29 February 2012 and the results, when analysed, will inform the next steps in the process. An important initiative under way in the Department is entitled Your Health is Your Wealth: A Policy Framework for a Healthier Ireland 2012-2020. It is anticipated that the review will identify a number of key lifestyle policy issues, such as smoking, alcohol and obesity, where further action is required. It is important to build a consensus across sectors and to engage stakeholders such as non-governmental organisations and the sporting bodies. All the initiatives being considered by the special action group on obesity will form part of the development of the public health policy framework, to enhance the health and well-being of all the population. Diabetes is an issue of great concern and is related to the problem of the large number of people who are overweight and obese. The trend of diabetes is set to continue for the foreseeable future. In Ireland the current prevalence of diabetes in adults, Type 1 and Type 2 combined, is estimated at 5% or just over 162,000 people. This is expected to rise to 5.6% or almost 200,000 by 2015. The majority of people with diabetes have Type 2. A significant proportion of the cost of diabetes care is attributable to the management and treatment of complications.

There are proposals to roll out the diabetes chronic disease management programme, which is an important development. To manage that situation, which poses such a threat to people's well-being, health and the health service, it is critical that people take steps to change their lifestyles. Some 80% of chronic disease can be avoided through changes in lifestyle. The Minister and I are engaged in this issue and we intend to harness all the resources available to us to get to the point where it is a matter of course that people play an active part in ensuring they lead balanced, healthy and active lives so that they contribute to maintaining their good health and well-being. I thank Deputy O'Donovan for raising this issue.

Photo of Patrick O'DonovanPatrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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We want to bring a younger generation with us, who will look up to an individual who they can trust in terms of making lifestyle changes. The Minister of State is correct that this is all about lifestyle, what we are ingesting and how little this nation is moving. In order to make a change, politicians are not necessarily the best placed people to encourage others. We could empower a national czar who could hold the Government to account and give it a checklist. The Taoiseach and Tánaiste said that, by 2016, they want Ireland to be the best small country in the world in which to do business, to grow old and to raise a family. By 2016, we also should be the best country at tackling these lifestyle diseases because we are storing up a huge problem with the diabetes issue, not to mention asthma, cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Voluntary organisations are inclined to encourage people towards a healthier lifestyle and when they are printing literature or taking our advertisements they should be exempt from VAT. There is no point in someone taking out a half-page advertisement in a national newspaper to encourage people to eat properly when the Government is the recipient of the VAT. The voluntary organisation is doing the State a favour. Someone trusted by the people should have oversight and the political speech should be taken out of it so that everyone is brought under one umbrella to tackle the largest public health issue facing this generation.

Photo of Róisín ShortallRóisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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The development of the new public health policy, which will be finalised in the middle of this year, will concentrate on the issue of lifestyle and the implications for a person's health and well-being. There will be an emphasis on getting across that message to young people in particular. This is not a matter just for the Department of Health; all other Departments need to play their parts, particularly in respect of education, where we have a captive audience in schools. That is where we must concentrate on getting the message out to young people.

I take the point with regard to having a personality leading this campaign to give the issue a profile although I do not know if there is a possibility of having a czar. The personality idea is a good one and I will take it up with the Minister for Health.