Eamonn Coghlan (Independent)

I move:

''That Seanad Éireann:

— recognises that the delivery of an effective Health Awareness and Physical Fitness programme in both primary and secondary schools is essential for the overall well-being of children;

— notes that while there is a new Physical Education curriculum in place at primary school level since 1999, it is not being implemented in full in 65% of schools, 54% of those schools citing lack of facilities and 11% of those schools citing pressure of time due to competition with other subjects; (Points for Life — Physical Fitness for a Healthy Life) (November 2011);

— notes that overweight and obesity is a serious problem in Ireland and that between 18% and 27% of Irish children are overweight or obese; (Irish Heart Foundation, 2007);

— notes that excess non-lean body mass, at a young age is associated with both immediate and long-term health risks and will have significant implications for health-care costs; (Growing up in Ireland, National Longitudinal Study of Children, Overweight and Obesity among 9-year olds (2011) p. 8);

— notes that while the status of Physical Education might be equal in law to other subjects, this is not matched in the reality of practice, (Hardman, 2007, 9) and

— proposes that the Government under the stewardship of the Minister for Health acts to develop effective and appropriate responses, cross-Departmental, to implement a continuously assessed physical fitness and health awareness programme and regular corresponding health checks to lessen the burden on our health service in the future and improve quality of life.''.

I welcome the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, whose presence in the House I consider a personal endorsement of the motion tabled by the Independent Senators. I have moved the motion and I note the Government's amendment. I wish to confirm acceptance of the change therein.

I have a dream, a vision of a destination that I wish to reach with my fellow Senators and colleagues. Our young people are dangerously on the cusp of becoming a lost generation. We are facing a tsunami of inactivity and ill-health. It is our collective responsibility to do something urgently about it right now and I hope that we will do it before it is too late.

My generation was very fortunate to grow up in an environment where we went out to play sports, to run, to kick ball, to play chase and even to play a game of rounders. We did it all for fun and we were naturally fit as a result. Sadly aspects of society have changed for the worse. In general we have lost our sense of adventure and understanding of the importance of proper physical activity. Instead, we have inherited the Internet, the PlayStation, Nintendo, Facebook and so much more convenience at our fingertips that one does not have to leave the comforts of home to communicate, seek food or friends. Our children's interpersonal skills and interactions with one another are diminishing. We have entered a faster, more dynamic pace of life, full of distractions, convenience food and the car culture, which allows less time for what is really important - our health. Life has changed due to a multitude of sad reasons. Even shockingly, children cannot simply enjoy the pleasure of running around a school yard anymore because of insurance issues. What is society coming to? I believe that we must start to teach our children from a young age in a more effective, compulsory, structured and monitored physical fitness learning environment. The public health checks in schools, which currently check eyesight and hearing, should also monitor physical fitness levels.

The emphasis should be on the long-term results and we can start immediately to focus on the short and medium-term objectives, which I shall outline. Through leadership, commitment and cross-departmental co-operation within government, Ireland can be the role model for the health and well-being for the youth of the world in the not too distant future. We need to believe we can and we need to have the vision and commitment to take positive action now. If we collectively act in the Seanad today, we can save "The Lost Generation" and create "The New Generation" of which Ireland will be proud. We need to go back to the future to achieve this.

Our education system has the most sophisticated, underutilised physical education programme implemented since the foundation of the State. Our physical education system is too sophisticated, passive and broad to tackle the serious health problems we face as a nation. It needs to be simplified, interesting, challenging, rewarding and to be fun. It needs specific goals based quality exercise rather than quantity and the results need evaluation on an ongoing basis just like other core subjects in numeracy and literacy skills on the school curriculum. Children need to understand the reasons and the importance of good physical fitness and it should be a constant in their lives.

Perhaps health and well-being is a more embracing and appropriate title than physical education. It more accurately reflects the holistic approach to children's health and fitness that is required in the modern world. Children need to learn and understand simple issues that affect their health such as cardiac disease, diabetes, smoking, drugs, cardiovascular benefits and a range of topics and activities. Physical education is regarded as a fun subject and it is not taken seriously enough. It should be regarded as a serious subject that is fun. Currently, parents can even decide if their children should participate at the whim of a note to the teacher. This would not happen with mathematics or Irish.

The last research in this area was completed in 2010 and this was on top of all the previous research undertaken over many years. I, therefore, undertook qualitative research throughout Ireland for the purpose of this document. I surveyed 171 schools and had a number of meetings with other key people as outlined in the document. I asked teachers where physical education comes on the list of priority subjects in school and they indicated it was near the bottom. When I asked them where fitness rates on the overall scale of a child's well-being, the answer was at the top. In spite of the evidence that increasing time allocated to physical education does not affect students academically, schools report feeling under pressure to prioritise examinable subjects. One way of addressing the issue is to make it a subject which is continuously assessed.

I wish to distinguish that this is not about sports participation; this is about learning, participating and understanding the value of fitness for life and, more important, gaining points for life as opposed to gaining points for college. From my own experience, improving one's physical fitness is not rocket science. It just requires a little common sense and discipline. It also requires the utilisation of existing structures and not large budgets. It needs bundles of determination, not cash.

I will outline the recommendations I am proposing as a result of feedback from the genuinely committed principals and PE teachers on the ground. The remainder of my recommendations can be found in the document I have circulated. The goals are laid out in three phases - short, medium and long term - in order that immediate action can be taken .

The short-term goals I wish to achieve include to establish a working committee; secure cross-departmental co-operation; quality and monitored exercise programmes for 15 minutes every day; structured cardiovascular exercises, including speed walking, running, skipping or even using a hula hoop because of its cardiovascular benefits; and the introduction of a fitness diary or homework book for school children.

My medium-term goals are the employment of fitness interns, where necessary, as classroom assistants under the JobBridge programme; a simplified physical fitness programme developing motor skills and agility, balance and co-ordination, ABCs; and physical fitness to be a core subject with parents having to attend parent-teacher meetings with physical fitness teachers. That does not happen at the moment. My long-term goals are to improve the health of our next generation, reduce the financial burden on the Department of Health and for Ireland to be a role model in health education in schools.

I would like to my ask my fellow Senators to stand up for one moment, put their two hands by their sides, close their eyes and stand on one leg. I thank them very much. That simple exercise relates to motor skills. Most people cannot do that for more than two or three seconds. Can colleagues imagine the benefits of that motor skill if one could balance on one leg for 30 seconds with one's eyes closed? Exercise provides the points for life.