Results 881-900 of 3,053 for speaker:Mary Upton

National Task Force on Obesity. (29 Nov 2006)

Mary Upton: I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I thought for a moment that he was going to mention all 93 proposals for dealing with obesity. I would like to mention same relevant facts relating to obesity. Some 18% of adults are obese and 39% of adults are overweight. In health terms, the problems of overweight and obesity contribute to many illnesses, including cardiovascular disease and...

National Task Force on Obesity. (29 Nov 2006)

Mary Upton: Congratulations.

National Task Force on Obesity. (29 Nov 2006)

Mary Upton: I welcome the initiatives that have led to an increase in horticultural output. This country needs to do much more to develop horticulture as an aspect of the food industry. Much more could be done to replace our imported products by way of new initiatives, especially on fruit and vegetables. I accept that we cannot grow bananas here, but there are many other fruits and vegetables that...

Biotechnological Inventions. (29 Nov 2006)

Mary Upton: Again, I want to thank the Minister of State for his reply. However, it suggests that there is a large gap somewhere in terms of research. I raised the question on the basis of the Minister's indications on the availability of crops and the potential for their development and conversion into a biodegradable product, by comparison with the use and overuse of plastic products which are...

Biotechnological Inventions. (29 Nov 2006)

Mary Upton: While I welcome those developments, I understand the Minister of State mentioned a sum of €3.5 million. I consider such a sum to be an extremely small amount of investment in terms of such research. Is the figure of €3.5 million correct?

Biotechnological Inventions. (29 Nov 2006)

Mary Upton: Yes. This field has enormous development potential and should be promoted. My question pertained in particular to the replacement of plastic materials, in so far as they might be used, for instance, as a food covering material. Some leading supermarkets in the United Kingdom are already working on such research, in which plastic coatings from such biodegradable raw material are used. Will...

Biotechnological Inventions. (29 Nov 2006)

Mary Upton: Supermarkets in the United Kingdom are already doing so.

Food Processing Sectors. (29 Nov 2006)

Mary Upton: I noted that the chief executive of the Irish Dairy Board commented recently that our input in cheese production is far behind that of the rest of Europe. Are there any specific initiatives in that area? Clearly there are many opportunities. We are importing vast amounts of cheese, which surely could be produced locally. These have the potential to be of a high quality. Why is there not...

Milk Testing. (29 Nov 2006)

Mary Upton: Is any comparative data available on tests currently carried out in the processing unit and those undertaken by the Department's independent monitoring unit? The Minister of State referred to ten samples being taken annually. More importantly, how do they compare and what discrepancies, if any, exist between them?

Milk Testing. (29 Nov 2006)

Mary Upton: I thank the Minister of State.

Animal Welfare. (29 Nov 2006)

Mary Upton: Question 10: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food her view on requiring the reporting of the severity of animal procedures retrospectively here. [40555/06]

Animal Welfare. (29 Nov 2006)

Mary Upton: I thank the Minister for responding to this question and I raise it in the wider context of animal welfare. My problem regarding all questions relating to animal welfare is that they are passed from one Department to another. When I asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government about the issue of feral cats, a real problem in suburban areas, he responded that it was...

Postal Services: Motion (5 Dec 2006)

Mary Upton: I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I disagree in some respects with my colleague, Deputy Moynihan-Cronin, because I am mindful of the lack of post offices in urban areas. My rural background allows me to sympathise with what is happening in rural areas. I spoke earlier today to friends and colleagues about the impact the closure of post offices is having on the rural...

Written Answers — Food Safety: Food Safety (5 Dec 2006)

Mary Upton: Question 73: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the discussions she has had with the Food Safety Authority to address the ongoing deficiencies in relation to the labelling of beef at the catering level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41473/06]

Written Answers — Cancer Screening Programme: Cancer Screening Programme (5 Dec 2006)

Mary Upton: Question 254: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the status of the prospect of comprehensive BreastCheck services being provided in the north-west region; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41140/06]

Written Answers — Cancer Screening Programme: Cancer Screening Programme (5 Dec 2006)

Mary Upton: Question 302: To ask the Minister for Health and Children when BreastCheck screening will be available in Sligo and Leitrim. [41521/06]

Written Answers — Medical Research: Medical Research (5 Dec 2006)

Mary Upton: Question 114: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the action she is taking to ensure that the housing and care of animals and invertebrates used in scientific procedures conforms with the highest evidence based animal welfare standards; the code of practice governing standards in this area here; and if she will provide this Deputy with a copy of same. [41472/06]

Written Answers — Garda Deployment: Garda Deployment (5 Dec 2006)

Mary Upton: Question 170: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of community gardaí and their ranks assigned to stations (details supplied) on 1 September 2006. [41241/06]

Written Answers — Hospital Services: Hospital Services (5 Dec 2006)

Mary Upton: Question 253: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the status of the prospect of radiotherapy facilities being provided in the north west region; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41139/06]

Written Answers — Infectious Diseases: Infectious Diseases (5 Dec 2006)

Mary Upton: Question 301: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the scientific basis used to underpin the decision not to stockpile face masks for use by members of the general public in the event of an outbreak of avian flu related human influenza in view of the fact that droplet and aerosol transmission are the most effective ways of spreading influenza and only face masks are capable of...