Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State and his officials to the House. One could not describe his speech as obese, however; brevity is the soul of wit. This hopefully augurs well for much action on the part of Government on this important issue.

Neither the Government nor legislators can be held responsible for people being obese which is a result of individual changes in lifestyle. The Government has a big role to play, but we should not try to blame it entirely for the rise in obesity. That would be unfair and would smack of a nanny state, with which I would not agree. The Government has a role in highlighting the rise of obesity and its medical side effects, and is wanting in this regard.

It was appalling to read an article in last week's edition of The Irish Times which stated that one in four girls and one in five boys in the five to 12 age group are overweight or obese which puts them at risk of a life dominated by weight problems, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, joint pain and certain cancers. This is worrying. The Slán report, published by the Department of Health and Children, states that by the end of the decade, obesity levels in Ireland will be the same as those in America. Every second person is overweight and one in eight people in Ireland is obese. Another startling statistic is that 400 children a year are treated in Tallaght Hospital for overeating.

I welcome the report, which I hope will generate a public debate on obesity and make people more aware of the dangers involved. There is a major health risk to obesity. The average life expectancy can reduce by seven years for people who are obese as opposed to those who are a relatively healthy weight.

The Government is lacking in many areas, including in the schools programme. All children attend school and that is an area where the Government can have some in terms of encouraging children to adopt a healthier lifestyle. We cannot expect Ministers to inspect the kitchens in every household and tell mothers and fathers how they should feed their children but the Government has a major role to play in schools, although its record in that area is atrocious.

The report called for a doubling of the time allocated for the teaching of physical education yet there is no mention of the way that should be done. As a former teacher, I am often amused when lobby groups propose, as a solution to a problem, the introduction of some new course in a primary school but I never hear them talk about the subjects that will be dropped or the hours that will have to be cut back. The reality is that many primary schools lack even basic PE halls to deliver their current PE programme. Currently, PE accounts for 4% of the school week here yet according to the OECD report the average should be 8% or 9%.

If we examine the Government's record in this area, it spent €3.5 million on PE halls in 2003, which was half what it spent in 2002. I do not have the figures for 2004 but it represents a drop in the ocean when it is put in the context of the €60 million squandered on e-voting.

More than half of all primary schools do not have a general purpose room and I am sure that those schools that have such a room would probably say it is inadequate. General purpose rooms often do not have a viewing area and in a class of 30 children, if ten are playing five aside and the other 20 are watching, the 20 children watching are put sitting on the side of the PE hall where they are in danger of being hit by a basketball or football.

The previous Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Noel Dempsey, abolished the annual grant for PE equipment. That grant should be restored and increased, something the INTO called for last week. I support that call.

Last year, the INTO carried out a survey of schools in counties Donegal, Clare, Kerry and Dublin, which ranged from very large primary schools to two-teacher schools. A total of 80% of the schools surveyed in County Donegal did not have a PE hall. The figure for County Clare was 63%, for County Kerry it was 70% and for County Dublin it was 14%. Of those schools that had PE halls it was reported that 60% of them were inadequate, too small for the numbers of pupils and of poor design, leading to safety considerations. The design faults included pillars in the hall or protruding radiators, which I mentioned last week when I called for the Health and Safety Executive to inspect schools. I am always baffled as to the reason architects put radiators on a wall of a PE hall where pupils play games. I am surprised we do not hear of far more injuries.

There is merit in the call by the INTO that vending machines in schools should be banned, although all a school can do in this area is to promote healthy eating. While vending machines may be banned it must be borne in mind that students can use the local shops. Banning vending machines will not address the problem. Schools should not be expected to take on the role of a police authority. They can only promote healthy eating and educate children on the types of food they should eat. Banning vending machines in schools may appear to be a major part of the solution to this problem but that is not the case.

We must examine the labelling of food. For years we were told we should eat many carbohydrates. That appears to have gone out the window now, especially for those on the Atkins diet. We must educate people more about the vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins and good and bad fats they should take in every day through their food, as we have seen in many health books lately. The reality is that if most people, including Members of this House, were asked about the number of calories they should take in each day and the amount of fruit and vegetables they should eat, they would not know the answer.

It is ironic that we are debating this subject in the House because I would imagine politicians are an unhealthy group of people in terms of their long working hours, lack of exercise and poor diets, which are not helped by having to attend functions and so on. The fact that these Houses do not have a gym, even though the subject has been spoken about for years, speaks volumes.

Obesity levels will have major implications for our health services. The smoking ban was introduced because we were told it would save people's lives, take pressure off the health services as there would be fewer side effects on both passive and active smokers, and reduce the number of people who smoke. The problem of obesity is another time bomb ticking away and while the Government cannot be held fully accountable for it, it can play a major role in addressing the issue.

We should promote healthy eating and an active lifestyle. That can be done through the schools by adequately resourcing them to provide proper PE halls and in community halls that are open to the public in every village and town. We often hear complaints about teenagers usingskateboards in towns yet the facilities are not provided to allow them engage in that activity.

On arrival in other European countries one is always struck by the beautiful parks where people can enjoy walking. This country is way behind in that regard. I read a startling statistic lately that we now have more golf clubs than parks. As a single man who likes golf, that suits me but it would not suit many families.