Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Independent Senators for putting forward this motion. Senator Eamonn Coghlan is to be commended on his exceptionally well presented report. It is particularly welcome that a person such as he, an iconic sporting figure, should take the initiative in this regard. We all enjoy watching the television footage of his sporting prowess. People of a certain age like to recall where they were when a particular event occurred. The memory of Ronnie Delaney winning gold at the Olympic Games more than 50 years ago has passed down from generation to generation. There is something in our psyche which embraces the inspiration that arises from observing people being physically challenged in a competitive context. All of that is important in its own right. Senator Coghlan is a role model in this regard and it is a pity we do not see him on television more often. There are others who seem to be waiting at the door to have their say on various subjects.

Senator Coghlan has gone to the trouble of researching and producing this important report. It often seems that we spend every morning in this House wondering how we can circumvent the Cathaoirleach on the Order of Business and get the opportunity to make a topical point. With this motion, the Independent Senators have chosen one of the most important subjects we could be discussing. I entirely agree with Senator John Crown in this regard. Unfortunately, because of the time of the evening, I would wager, if I were a betting man, that the debate will not feature on tonight's "Oireachtas Report". That is a great pity given the work that went into the report and the exceptional comments and contributions we have heard today, many of them based on experience.

While the motion is directed at schools, the reality is that society itself has changed, as a result of which many of the things we took for granted no longer apply. When I was a child one finished one's school day and immediately went across to the Christian Brothers' playing field. We were automatically involved in sport almost every day after school. That is no longer the case, which is regrettable. We must consider the purpose of this debate. What do we expect to come out of it? Is it a matter of expressing our views on something about which we feel strongly, letting them off into the ether and bringing them to the Minister of State's attention? The Minister, Deputy Reilly, spoke about the crowded school curriculum. That is not sufficient justification for a lack of action on the issue. The graph in the document in front of me clearly shows that obesity ranks among the greatest risks to health. If it is a matter of life or death, we should revisit the curriculum in order to ascertain whether there has been an incorrect emphasis.

In regard to societal norms and advertising, some Members will recall the various debates in this House on smoking, in which we all accepted that it is harmful to health. In that case, there was also the question of secondary harm. In recent years there have been significant restrictions on the advertising of tobacco products at point of sale. We discussed the issue of alcohol misuse some weeks ago in this House, in the course of which advertising was again raised. There is certainly an argument for a restriction on the advertisement of fast foods. Whenever I am driving during a school break, I see young people standing about with bags of chips. I am not criticising anybody's taste; that is not the issue. The concern is that young people see those types of foods as part of a normal diet. Some part of that message is coming from television advertising and so on. If the statistics are as serious as they seem - they are jumping out at us from this report - we must get back to fundamentals.

Although I am aware that the Seanad is working against the clock, it would be very interesting to schedule a further debate in the near future in order to consider where we go from here.