Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)

I too welcome the report of the Government's task force on obesity. It is a serious situation that more than 2,000 people will die this year from obesity-related illnesses and over 300,000 children are affected by the problem. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government can also act on this issue. I drive to Dublin every second day and I see footpaths on the bypasses at Longford and Enfield which thousands of people use daily. Footpaths should be incorporated into the plans for any future bypasses or link roads to ensure people can walk.

There has been talk about installing a gymnasium in Kildare House for almost ten years but to date there has been no value for money in that proposal. People have been working on it for the past 18 months but there is no gymnasium. How can we advise people to go out walking and get fit when we do not do so ourselves?