Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I support the comments of my colleagues on the obesity issue. There should be a debate but it should be the commencement of putting together a practical action plan to address this issue. The figures revealed today in the WHO report are both frightening and startling, and the consequences, if we leave it unaddressed, are horrendous. Dr. Francis Finucane, a consultant endocrinologist at University Hospital Galway, suggests that the position will get worse and that if we leave matters as they are, we will be similar to the United States where one in three of those born since 2000 will have diabetes by the time they reach the age of 50. It is time to take all those reports to which Senator Eamonn Coghlan referred and start condensing them down to practical workable solutions. I agree with the Senator on the need for more investment in sports facilities in schools. There are significant sporting facilities in every rural community, town and village in this country but these are totally under-utilised. The challenge is how we can encourage more young people to use those facilities.

I refer to another significant report that was published today by Amnesty International on the unthinkable atrocities being waged against civilians in Syria's second city of Aleppo. The report alleges that the Syrian Government forces and many rebel groups are committing war crimes every day. President Assad's Government stepped up its bombardment of Aleppo in recent weeks in response to a rebel offensive. A local journalist told the BBC that she heard the screams of children and saw rescuers struggling to pull victims from the rubble. The Amnesty report stated that Syrian Government aircraft launched continual attacks using barrel bombs, oil barrels, fuel tanks and gas cylinders packed with explosives and targeted 14 public markets, 12 transportation hubs, 23 mosques, 17 hospital and medical centres and three schools, and there have been in excess of 3,000 fatalities. Over a year ago, a UN resolution calling for an end to human rights abuses, specifically barrel bombs, was passed but the Government of Assad failed to comply with that resolution. Since then the international community has turned its back on the Aleppo civilians. I call on our Government to keep on at the United Nations and our counterparts in Europe to apply pressure to the Assad Government to desist and adhere to the United Nations resolution.What is happening in Syria warrants another debate in the House with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade at a convenient time because the atrocities highlighted in today's report are unspeakable and must be addressed. If war crimes are being committed, there is an obligation on the international community to pursue that issue to the international courts.