Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House for this discussion on men's health. Over the years the issue has been obscured, so I welcome the fact that it is at last beginning to be put at the top of the agenda and I thank the Minister of State for his co-operation on that.

For years we had a macho society and a drink culture in which a man was not considered a man until he could drink ten pints and a few whiskeys and smoke a few cigarettes. Football matches, weddings, christenings and birthday parties were all occasions during which the drink culture and its associated diet, which was not exactly the best, were evident. Over the years many people died because they just did not know anything different from that culture. Although my father often enjoyed a pint of Guinness, perhaps the main thing that saved him — he lived to an elderly age — was that he did not drink shorts. I worry that shorts are beginning to be accepted by younger people. They are perhaps a modern thing, but whereas a pint of Guinness or a pint or bottle of beer will not do much harm to the liver, half a bottle of whiskey a day will ensure that a man will not survive into a ripe old age unless he is very fortunate. I am worried that we are now moving into a culture of shorts and hard liquor. We need to consider that issue seriously. However, people are now more aware of what happens, whereas the drink culture of previous generations killed off many adult men over the decades — perhaps up until the 1970s — because they simply did not know any better.

Diet is another issue, much of which is centred around the drink culture whereby people eat fast foods, such as the chicken snack box or batter burger, which are not conducive to a healthy lifestyle. I remember a friend telling me of what happened when my grandfather went to the doctor about 40 years ago. At that time the staple diet in every house in the country involved the use of the frying pan for breakfast, dinner and team, where all cooking was done using fat and lard. People were so used to the frying pan that when the doctor told my grandfather, "James, what you need to do now is go home and throw out the frying pan", my grandfather replied, "If we throw out the frying pan, what will we eat?" It is great to see things have changed since then, as we are not now as reliant on the frying pan as we used to be.

One issue that does not revolve around the public house is the breakfast roll. As the celebrated song by the comedian Pat Shortt mentions, the breakfast roll involves "Two eggs, two rashers, two sausages, two puddin'— one black, one white". However, I believe the jumbo breakfast roll will prove to be a serious issue. Although it might be great when people are young and working on a building site — when they drive to work, they just pull into a forecourt — but the body cannot continue to take that. The breakfast roll contains enough fat and calories for the whole day. If we do not stop, we will move much closer to the situation in the United States, where the widespread use of Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's mean that obesity is a major issue.

Over the past ten years, the average weight of people has increased by 10lbs because of such convenience foods. We are not paying enough attention to the contents of food and to food labelling. Convenience foods may be great when people are young, when their lifestyle allows them to fight off those effects, but when people get to a certain age they cannot continue with such diets. Poor diet can present as serious a health risk as smoking.

Physical activity is excellent and a great help to health, so perhaps more could be done to encourage people to take it up. I have always said that one cannot beat a walk in the morning. Many men have now taken up walking, whereas ten years ago men would have been involved only in football or rugby and, when they retired from that, would have ended all physical activity apart from perhaps a game of golf. I would encourage people to take up walking but the Government could also help by, for example, ensuring that any bypass that is built includes lights and footpaths to allow people to walk in safety. On many country roads with poor lighting some walkers wear fluorescent jackets but some continue to take their lives in their hands. However, the poor unfortunate driver who knocks them down also has cause to worry.

The smoking ban was a welcome move for our pub culture. It actually highlights how many men and women are dying unnecessarily as a result of over-indulgence in tobacco. It was all very fine over the years because when one passed pubs one never saw the people who were dying inside them. Now, one can see them outside smoking. When one passes a pub one will see withered young men who are in their 30s and 40s but who look to be in their 50s and 60s. This is a result of addiction to alcohol and cigarettes. It is a lifestyle about which people should be better informed, although much has been done in this regard. I enjoy that lifestyle myself so I cannot say much more.

We often discuss the incidence of suicide among young men. For too long we did not know what to say about this issue and politicians did not know what to do about it. Young men do not talk to each other if they have a problem. I attended a seminar on depression and asked what one should do about this. In political life one meets many people in our offices and constituencies, especially young men, who are so stressed and depressed that one is often fearful they might commit suicide. One does not know what to do.

There is a family life centre in my constituency which is a great support. I can phone counsellors and arrange to put people in contact with them. It is a great resource for a politician because we do not know what to say. Sometimes, however, when one meets somebody in that condition it can be useful to ask them if they are suicidal. It can help to get through to them. This is an important issue for politicians because we encounter these situations all the time.

There is much talk about the incidence of prostate and testicular cancer. These issues have still not been addressed. Men do not visit the doctor as often as they should. Perhaps it is time to consider a scheme whereby a doctor would visit football clubs, IFA meetings and other venues where men congregate and encourage them to visit the doctor. Men tend to be lazy and not to watch what is happening.

It is good that the incidence of smoking among men has decreased. This will help men's health. There is also the issue of stress. Today I drove to Dublin from Roscommon. I left at 7.50 a.m. and reached Lucan at 9.20 a.m. but did not get into town until 10.50 a.m. I am very stressed. God help anybody who must make that journey every day because I am stressed after doing it this morning. We must do something about our roads network and provide a better transport network so people can get to work on time. I accept that much has been done, as the Minister would say, but there is a great deal more to do.

We are becoming more aware of the issue of men's health. It is no longer a taboo subject. Prevention is always better than cure.