Susan O'Keeffe (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. While the future of the House may be a little uncertain, one thing that is certain is that lifestyle affects one's health. One of the key statistics in the report is that we know, without fear of contradiction, that 30% of common cancers are influenced by the way in which we live our lives. As Senator MacSharry noted, one of the initiatives launched in this Seanad was the establishment of the Seanad Public Consultation Committee. As a member of the committee, I embraced the initiative wholeheartedly and proposed this issue for discussion. We did a good job and I am pleased the Minister of State has come before the House to discuss this extremely important topic.

This process came about as a result of a briefing Dr. Kate Allen, who works for the World Cancer Research Fund, gave to the Irish Cancer Society. Dr. Allen spoke in such stark terms that I decided it was necessary to promote the message that we have some control over our lives. This is not a matter for the Health Service Executive, Department of Health or someone else but for each and every one of us. We must try to understand how to lead a healthier lifestyle. As public representatives, we have a duty and responsibility to try to get this message across in a clear fashion. The issue came before the Seanad Public Consultation Committee for this reason. It will not be a surprise to those present that this report is probably one of the shortest reports ever presented to the Oireachtas. My co-author, Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell, and I both have experience in journalism and we deliberately decided to produce a short report. We did so because we did not want to wrap up the report in another report or produce a document that no one could get at. It needs to be clear that the report makes simple recommendations, all of which are achievable. We had a good debate on which of the recommendations made by witnesses we would choose and we chose those we believed could be achieved by this Government.

One or two of them are obviously more controversial than others, not least the restriction on the price of alcohol that Senator MacSharry mentioned. However, in the main many of them are very practical. What is the point in getting bogged down in another report by another group? We have more statistics than we know what to do with. I suggest part of the dilemma in the current debate on cancer is that the public is getting confused. There are many scare stories about cancer on the one hand and how many people will get cancer and so forth. There is confusion about the effect of drinking a glass of wine, or eating a bar of chocolate, nuts or porridge. People are getting consumed and confused by that. One of our key responsibilities was to lay out our recommendations for Government in a very clear way and I hope we have done that. I hope anybody picking up the report can read it very quickly and get a grasp of the scale of the challenge facing us.

I welcome the health strategy launched in March. I attended the launch and found it very impressive. It is a very wide-ranging long-term strategy. We can launch as many strategies as we like, but the implementation of the strategy is what should concern us. I am delighted to see an interdepartmental group involving the Departments of Health, and Transport, Tourism and Sport to encourage people to be more physically active, which is what we need. As Senator MacSharry said, not everybody in school likes hurling, soccer, football or whatever, but children spend a considerable amount of time in school every day. Even if they could run around during the day, it would be a help.

I had the pleasure of welcoming the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, to Sligo last week. We visited a girls' school in Collooney where the area for running around is small. The main road to Ballina passes in front of the school and is very dangerous. Those 50 or 55 students are very constrained in the amount of running around they can do. They are not alone. Some time ago we threw out the value of physical education of literally running around even if it is in an unstructured way. One practical thing we could resume doing is having children being able to run around during the school day and not relying on parents having to take them to something else after school to ensure they get the exercise they need.

We often criticise the HSE, which is very easy to do given that it has many problems. However, we are certainly blessed with the people who work there and in the many organisations associated with health and health-care provision in Ireland. They have been screaming that we have a problem in the country and voicing concern, particularly over obesity. One of the recent briefings was entitled "Childhood Obesity Catastrophe in Ireland: Time to Face the Inaction". Many people who attended that briefing made the points the Minister of State will have heard previously about childhood obesity. If the health-care professionals are calling it a catastrophe and referring to inaction, we should be doing more to bring home the message to parents, children, single people and older people that lifestyle is a major contributory factor. During that briefing we were surprised to learn the relationship between the consumption of alcohol and the incidence of breast cancer in women. Many people did not know or realise that and yet it appears to have drifted into the ether along with all the other things.

It is about informing the public and having a campaign and strategy that is rooted in education and information and not frightening people. I was impressed by the Irish Cancer Society's new strategy statement, Towards a Future without Cancer. It concentrates on the idea that we could have a future without cancer and a mission to eliminate cancer. One of the speakers, Dr. John Seffrin from the US, mentioned a 68% survival rate for white men with cancer in the United States heading for 80%.

The message he was trying to get across was that we need not be afraid of this in the way we were 20 years ago. In Ireland, we still are in the stage of being afraid, and all the statistics refer to the fear and terror and its rise, as well as the numbers who are dying every day, hour and week. This is the kind of thing that almost paralyses people and prevents them from taking control of their lives. Consequently, one returns repeatedly to the need for this to be about people taking charge of their lives and how the Government can link into that. If health care professionals are terrifically concerned and wish to become involved, Members have a duty to listen and deliver on that.

Although they were present at the time, it probably is worth reading into the record the groups who appeared to give evidence to the Seanad Public Consultation Committee. Moreover, such was their concern that they also attended the launch of the report. I refer to the Nutrition and Health Foundation, the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute, the Alcohol Forum, the Irish Cancer Society, the national cancer control programme, the Institute of Public Health in Ireland, the Alcohol Action Ireland group, the health promotion research centre in NUI Galway, ASH Ireland, the World Cancer Research Fund, which of course sparked the discussion in the first instance, and safefood. These are all the key people involved. All these groups attended and I note they sent their senior people to both the meeting and the launch.

My request is that the obesity group really should be the cancer group and should not concentrate solely on obesity. While I do not wish to reduce its importance, it should be extended to include alcohol and tobacco and should be turned into a task force on cancer, which would then have all the additional benefits of people being healthier in respect of many other conditions such as diabetes, to give one example.

I am delighted the Minister of State is present and that Members are having this debate. I thank the Leader of the House for encouraging and supporting the Seanad Public Consultation Committee in respect of this initiative. This is the kind of work the Seanad can do well because its Members have that space and some expertise on which they can call, as well as being able to take the time to frame it properly. As a public representative, I take this matter very seriously and I would like to believe the current Administration, led by the Department of Health in tandem perhaps with the Departments of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Education and Skills, Transport, Tourism and Sport, Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, and Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, can have a role in stating that a foundation is being laid down for a strong approach to giving responsibility to people to feel there is a future without cancer and that they will be supported to make this first step towards living a healthier lifestyle. While it is not easy, it certainly can be done. One hopes some of these recommendations will not be put on the shelf but will be used and considered over time and that everyone can benefit from them.