Results 321-340 of 7,970 for speaker:Hildegarde Naughton

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Public Health and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: The Deputy raises a very important area around the appearance of something that looks healthy in our supermarkets but is it actually healthy? It is a big area that we need to examine. Again, education and awareness will be part of it but through the reformulation review and how that has worked, we will also consider, for example, the need for mandatory legislation in this area. Research is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Public Health and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: We are all tempted at the checkout when we have done our healthy food shop and then see high fat, high sugar, high salt goods there. I am certainly open to this. Education and awareness are key and are a very big part of it, but there are the voluntary codes. The process through Coimisiún na Meán is going to be another area where we look at this.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Public Health and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: I think Deputy Durkan is right. It is important to say that a healthy diet does not exclude any food group, but it does mean we need to be eating more fruit and vegetables. It is also important to turn to what the Department of Education is doing through the SPHE and well-being programmes. We have the Food Dudes programme, where children are introduced to healthy eating and get packages of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Public Health and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: Portugal has a very good example. That country has legislated for marketing restrictions. It is another country we are working with at EU level and looking at how that approach has worked, how it is being bedded in and at the evidence of the impact in this regard. The Commission is also working on setting nutrient profiles and front-of-pack labelling. This work is being led by a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Public Health and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: Yes. I take that point. In Spain, for example, 38% of children are overweight or obese. Every European country is grappling with this issue and this is why working at an EU level will be important. Education awareness is key and what the schools are doing is extremely important. I refer to perhaps looking at expanding this aspect as well. The marketing and packaging area is another...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Public Health and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: The Healthy Ireland 2023 survey stated that 18% of the population aged 15 or over are current smokers,14% smoke daily and 4% said they smoke occasionally. According to the health behaviour in school-aged children study from 2018, 11% of children between ten and 17 years have tried smoking. That marked a decline of 5% from 16% in 2014. According to the European schools project on alcohol and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Public Health and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: The Health Research Board regularly produces information on that. We know it is not good to take drugs. The national drugs strategy addresses harm reduction and helping those in addiction. We all know the devastating effects of addiction, not only on those who are in addiction but on their families and the communities across the country that are devastated. That is why the work of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Public Health and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: We have a programme called Sláintecare healthy communities, which focuses on disadvantaged areas because we know that, as in other countries, people who experience social disadvantage or lower levels of educational attainment tend to have poorer quality diets. A number of interventions have been designed to help target and help people in those areas. There is a nutrition education...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Public Health and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: The Deputy is right. There is a great deal of misinformation around what is healthy food. A great deal of work is being done within the Department to get the message out there to people who want to cut back on or improve their diet in some shape or form. There is also misinformation about obesity in general. Often, the individual is blamed and people say that he or she is overweight...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Public Health and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: Unfortunately, everything comes back to the education system, but schools are doing good work in the form of physical activity and getting kids active. Healthy Ireland is investing a great deal of money in local communities. What is particularly good about this funding is that it is not just going to projects that blanket the country. Rather, it goes into towns and villages in every local...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Public Health and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: Healthy eating guidelines have been developed for schools. We have the school meals programme within schools. We also have campaigns around healthy eating. It is important to target the schools. Sometimes, children are the best messengers and take home the message about healthy eating and what constitutes a balanced diet. Schools have the SPHE and well-being programmes. In terms of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Public Health and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: We provide training through the RCSI. The Deputy is right about this being a sensitive issue, and we have to be mindful of the stigma. We also have children’s services for weight management and treatment. It comes down to training healthcare professionals – there is a roll-out of such training – in how to manage situations like a GP having to talk to parents.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Public Health and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: The Deputy is right. I am even hearing from people in the arts that, since Covid, people are not going to the theatre as much. People are engaging in different types of activity and their patterns have changed. Staying at home and drinking may be an issue. We need to do more about this topic. I would be open to suggestions from members. We have to look at how people socialise now. It...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Public Health and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: Yes, and maybe we could do more, but schools have the SPHE programme, healthy eating initiatives and the school meals programme. If members have ideas or suggestions, I would be open to them. The schools are doing good work, but we cannot rest on our laurels. The facts are there in terms of the number of children who are obese and overweight. It is not just up to the education system,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Public Health and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank the Chair. He raised an important point around cooking and people's ability. Sometimes people and families are time poor with both parents working. Through the Sláintecare healthy communities initiative, there are programmes to help people within certain communities around the country. They are designed in particular to help mothers to prepare meals. The issue in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Public Health and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank the Deputy. I am here today to listen to the contributions of Deputies and for them to feed into our work so I will certainly take the Deputy's point on board. I hear what she is saying about industry, its campaigning and marketing and the force behind it. I mentioned educational awareness, which is important. We have targeted campaigns, such as the healthy weight campaign and the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Public Health and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: The engagement is happening now.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Public Health and the Commercial Determinants of Health: Discussion (14 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: I am just stating the fact of where we are. Coimisiún na Meán has just been established. Officials in the Department are now engaging with it. We could not have engaged with it a year ago because it was not-----

Protection of Employees (Trade Union Subscriptions) 2024: First Stage (13 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: No.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Feb 2024)

Hildegarde Naughton: I move: Tuesday's business shall be: - Motion re Report of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach under Dáil Standing Order 133 on a Proposal for a Council Directive on Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation (BEFIT), COM(2023)532 (without debate) - Road Traffic Bill 2024 (Second Stage) (if not previously concluded, to adjourn either...