Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support Senator Keane’s reference to nutrition and healthy eating. We had a very interesting debate and passed Second Stage of the Food Provenance Bill. This is something the Government can actually do. The Bill has passed Second Stage. It can be created and passed and it will give all citizens an opportunity to know where their food comes from and what is in it.

We also had a very good debate last year on food wastage. There is a huge amount of wasted food in the hands of retailers and suppliers and very much in the hands of individual citizens who buy more food than they need. There are very simple solutions to this. One is to do away with "best before" stamps in order to have only "use by". That is just one little example.

The other matter on which we had a good debate some time ago was the use of salt and the amount of salt in food. I do not believe we should pass a law saying that people should not use a certain amount of salt. It is up to the citizens themselves. The debate is educational. Maybe we can manage to encourage people to consider the amount of salt they use. Salt intake is a huge killer in ways that we have discussed.

This is a reminder of some very good debates that we have had in this House and that I hope we will continue to have. It is a reminder of the value of the Seanad, not just in passing legislation but also in being able to debate very topical issues that are very serious. I urge us to consider recognising the benefit of this House, particularly in such areas that do not depend only on passing legislation but also on informing our citizens of things they need to know about themselves.