Eamonn Coghlan (Independent)

It is difficult to know how to begin in responding to colleagues' contributions. I wonder whether it is the first time that everybody in the House is in agreement. I particularly welcome the Minister's statement:

We must take a more holistic approach to promoting, maintaining and improving rates of active living. By encouraging physical activity and active living from an early age, the population can reap the benefits into old age.

That is exactly what I am talking about. The health budget forecast in countries throughout the world over the next 30 years is going in only one direction while the physical education budget may well go in the other direction. The consequences are a cause for grave concern not only in Ireland, but internationally.

We face many hurdles in tackling this issue but, like the athlete who manages all the hurdles on the track, we will overcome them. This is not about obesity, which was mentioned by almost every speaker. Obesity is far too complex an issue, whereas what I am proposing here is simple. Tackling obesity encompasses a range of issues, including diet, advertising campaigns, taxes on sugar and salt and so on. Promoting physical exercise can make only a small contribution to reducing the obesity level; it cannot by itself eradicate the problem. Nor is it just about physical activity. People say to me that playing golf involves plenty of exercise. They are kidding themselves. One does not get any exercise walking 18 holes and most of those who play golf are overweight. I am talking about physical fitness. The young children who train in my club develop motor skills and cardiovascular conditioning. After only three or four weeks they begin growing in confidence. They turn into fine adults who are doctors, nurses, lawyers and professional people, both men and women. I have seen how their confidence grows.

This is about a cultural change, the change we have since the time I used to run one mile to and from school four times a days, accumulating X number of miles per week, and played Gaelic football and soccer. That degree of physical activity among children has diminished in societies throughout the world. It is about developing physical fitness in school. We talk about children spending 25% of their time in school, time which is particularly important for those who are not driven to sports activities after school and are not properly fed by their parents.

They will have to get this on the front line, where they will be taught how to be physically fit, where they will be lectured in nutrition and diet and all the various aspects which we have discussed in this debate. These children will eventually become secondary school students, college students and parents. If we can catch them in infancy and they learn the importance of physical fitness and a healthy diet and nutrition, just as they learn to brush their teeth every morning and evening, we will see the results in the next ten, 15 and 20 years.

The Minister alluded to the opt-out clause for those who, unfortunately, do not wish to engage in physical exercise because of their size. A teacher in a Dublin secondary school said the parents who send in excuse notes for their children are the same children who have no problem showing up a discotheque wearing very short mini-skirts. There is no such thing as opting out.

Ladies and gentlemen of the Seanad, it is a case of changing a culture in order to change and save a generation. I am prepared to take action and I will seek support from the Members of this House. I will keep knocking on the door for as long as I am here.