Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, who is speaking in the other House. The Minister established the special action group on obesity to advise him on priority actions to tackle overweight and obesity. In the light of the growing problem of obesity among children, the group has identified the necessity of targeting childhood obesity as one of a range of action measures. We know from the ongoing Growing Up in Ireland study, carried out by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, that one in four children as young as three years of age is overweight or obese. It is well accepted that childhood obesity can track into adulthood and is linked with a range of chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

The Health Service Executive is represented on the special action group on obesity and has updated it on successful initiatives for young children, including the Early Years health promotion programme in Sligo-Leitrim. I understand the programme is a partnership between the local family resource centre and the HSE and funded through the executive's Border counties child care committees via the local region. The HSE has provided funds of €15,000 for the Early Years health promotion programme for training and resources in 2012. The training is intensive and while it produces excellent results, the cost per beneficiary is high.

It is in this context that the HSE approached the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and arranged a meeting to discuss the long-term future of the programme. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs, in turn, facilitated a joint meeting with the Department of Education and Skills to discuss national training possibilities. The outcome of this meeting is that discussion is under way with officials to ensure all voluntary education centres throughout the country include the Early Years health promotion programme as part of their training agenda. This will allow for everyone working in the area of child care to do this course as part of their training. In other words, the Early Years health promotion programme will not only continue to be provided in the Sligo-Leitrim area but will, as the Senator proposed, be mainstreamed for the entire country in order that all child care workers can benefit from the training. The good news story that is the health promotion programme initiated in Sligo-Leitrim is being expanded in order that children who are overweight or obese can obtain consistent advice on healthy eating and being physically active.