Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)

I use it as an opportunity to vent. Physical activity should be a part of every young person's life in some guise or another. Encouraging a person to find an activity he or she is interested in, whether it be a traditional sport, dancing or anything else, is an important part of our task in the future. Physical activity is important, as the motion notes, in the overall well-being of children. I share the concerns of health professionals and user groups about the increasing prevalence of obesity in young children and adults.

While a lot of research has focused on the physical and health benefits of exercise, it is worth noting, as other Senators have, the growing body of work demonstrating that exercise promotes wellness and mental health. Researchers at Duke University in the US who studied people suffering from depression for four months found that 60% of participants who exercised for 30 minutes three times a week overcame their depression without using any anti-depressant medication at all. Physical activity can be viewed as a wellness activity that may actually prevent physical and emotional conditions. It controls weight, combats health conditions and diseases, improves mood, boosts energy and promotes better sleep.

While parents should do everything possible to ensure their children are not putting their health at risk through poor diet and lack of exercise, the State also has a responsibility in this regard, particularly in view of the significant impact the increase in obesity will have on our already overstretched health care system. There are numerous barriers preventing children from adopting healthy lifestyles and the importance of having a balanced diet and regular exercise cannot be overstated in this day and age. While the school curriculum has many positive aspects, there has been some difficulty with implementation. A study on sport in schools funded by the Irish Sports Council found that 19% of primary and 12% of post-primary schoolchildren met the Department of Health physical activity recommendations. As has been said already, girls were less likely than boys to meet the physical activity recommendations; I am a prime example of this. The likelihood of meeting the physical activity recommendations decreased with increasing age. One in four children were unfit, overweight or obese, or had elevated blood pressure. Children who met the Department's physical activity recommendation of more than 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily had the best health profile of all. That is why we need to work alongside teachers, education providers and health care professionals to help children develop physical skills and support a lifelong interest in sport and being active.

Schools are a key setting for children to get their 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity. Given the significant portion of their time that children spend in school, schools should undertake a combination of strategies and approaches to help children to be more physically active, including having infrastructure and policies that encourage and increase access to physical activity for all students, the maintenance of strong physical education programmes that engage students in moderate to vigorous physical activity, and the provision of a variety of activities and specific skills so that they can be physically active not just during PE class but throughout the day, even if it consists of standing up and raising their foot for 30 seconds during a class.

However, many schools do not have the resources at their disposal, an issue we must consider. On wet or icy days it may not be safe to take children outside, and many schools do not yet have sports halls or indoor sports facilities. In 2008 John Carr of the INTO said that the failure by the Department to improve facilities for physical education opportunities in primary schools meant that many children were not even getting the minimum lesson time recommended in the curriculum. He said:

On paper, the time recommended for physical education in our schools is the lowest in Europe. In practice it is far worse than that because in too many of our schools bad weather prevents physical education being taught. This is because too many of our schools lack an indoor facility for PE. In Ireland PE is weather dependent.

I thank Senator Coghlan for introducing this motion and I look forward to supporting it.