David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. It is good to be here to debate and discuss this report which though short, is heavy in content in terms of the actions and proposals it puts forward. This is what such documents should be like. I commend the authors, the committee on its hearings and all of the experts and individuals who took part in the consultation process and thank them for their input.

The starting point in solving any problem is the acceptance of the fact we have a problem. We are at that position in regard to cancer and the causes of it because of the significant research that has been carried out in recent years. The facts are indisputable that obesity, alcohol and what we eat all play a part in terms of the levels and incidence of cancer in our State. The figures are startling - one in four people in this State will get cancer. The report states that by 2030, twice as many people in the State as now will have cancer. This is because of our ageing population and population growth. However, it is appalling to think we will have twice as many people suffering from cancer. This is a human tragedy that will be traumatic for these individuals and their families, but it will also place a huge financial burden on the State and our health services.

It is obvious that the best place to start dealing with this is by trying to prevent cancer developing initially. Significant research has been done on treatment for cancer patients, which is fantastic and we need investment in that area to ensure people get the best treatment. However, we should invest as much again in preventive measures. The report acknowledges that we have not invested as much as we should in prevention, in raising awareness, in education and other areas.

I would like to mention some sections of the report which merit comment, beginning with the section on smoking. When we look back at what the previous Government did, we can look with horror on much of what was done. However, one good initiative was the introduction of the smoking ban. There was significant political pressure on the Government at the time and a huge lobby against the introduction of that ban. It was a big challenge for the then Government electorally, particularly smokers, to follow through on the commitment and to put the ban in place. The question we must ask ourselves now is whether anybody would want to see that decision reversed. I am sure the majority of people would say "No". I believe that even those who were completely against the ban would now see the benefits and would not want the decision reversed. The same applies to many of the recommendations in this report. It will take political courage to follow through on them and it will be necessary for the Government, all parties and the political system to face down strong lobbies from the cigarette industry and the alcohol industry.

I am sure the Minister faces such opposition in regard to the proposals on alcohol prevention and reduction in the report commissioned by his Department. I was a member of the health committee for two years and was involved in drafting the all-party report published by the committee some years ago. Many recommendations were made by that committee, including one on pricing. I dissented on the issue of minimum pricing, not because I do not believe pricing plays a part in reducing consumption - I think it does and evidence says it does - but because of my concern that the introduction of minimum pricing would not solve the problem but would bolster the profits of the people who provide alcohol. I wanted reassurance from the Government and those who propose minimum pricing that this would not be the case, but that has not happened so far. I still do not know exactly how minimum pricing would work. Many people argued at the committee that if we were minded to use pricing as an instrument to reduce consumption, we should look at increasing excise duty on alcohol. In that case the money would come straight to the State and Government coffers and should then be ringfenced for the type of work recommended in this report regarding raising awareness, education and prevention measures in each area. If the Government is going to use pricing as an instrument, there must be a dividend and that money must be ringfenced so as to ensure that recommendations in this report will be implemented.

The all-party proposals on alcohol consumption contained many other proposals, such as on the issue of sponsorship for sporting organisations, but a different Oireachtas committee came up with a different analysis and set of proposals. Again, there was strong lobbying done in this regard. There is significant lobbying done by the alcohol industry and I saw this for myself when a member of the committee. Hard lobbying is conducted to prevent the Government from doing what is right in these areas and from coming up with measures and proposals that should be implemented. However, if our proposals were implemented, we would be in the same situation as we are now with regard to the smoking ban and could look back and ask why this was not done earlier or why there was not debate on the issues earlier. This is something we should consider.

With regard to the proposals relating to children, I have a child of six and a child of two and was very interested in the question of what should be or should not be in a child's lunch box. The challenge in this regard is to educate ourselves and parents about how we should eat, how we feed our children and how what they eat will impact on their health. Even simple proposals such as banning junk food and vending machines in schools and workplaces are difficult to implement. One would be amazed by the amount of opposition there is to even the simplest of proposals such as this.

There is a responsibility on the political system - all parties - to face up to our responsibilities in these areas. If we are genuine about wanting to reduce the levels and incidence of cancer, we must take tough decisions. We must face down the vested interests and show courage and support each other. We in the Opposition must support the Government when it takes the right decisions on these issues rather than support it for selfish, political reasons. I hope that is how this will play out.

I call on the Minister of State to respond on some of the questions I have raised and to outline what actions he intends to take on board from this document and will implement.