Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We are facing major problems in this country and I agree with what the Minister had to say about the World Health Organization. We have a growing problem and, while we seem to have been able to get to grips with the health problems caused by smoking, obesity is now our most serious problem. It has moved ahead of smoking as an issue. Some 61% of Irish adults are overweight or obese and one in five primary school children and teenagers is overweight or obese. The current policy and an action plan are under consideration, to be finalised by the end of 2015. The policy contains three elements, namely, prevention, treatment and research, all of which are very important elements of the policy.I understand that safefood Ireland, which is in the process of doing further research in this whole area, has invited tenders to determine the direct health care costs per capitaof an obese child. It may well have appointed someone to carry out that research at this stage. Part of the research involves determining the lifetime indirect costs, such as the cost of the loss of earnings attributable to premature mortality, disability or illness, and assessing the financial benefits of prevention and early intervention in childhood. This research is being done at present.

Many health and psychological problems in young people are attached to childhood obesity. The health problems include respiratory disorders, high blood pressure, sleep difficulties and musculoskeletal disorders. The risk of type 1 or type 2 diabetes is a growing problem as well. In this context, I was interested to read an English report about changes that occurred there between 2000 and 2012. Those who compiled the report worked out that there had been an increase in the rate of hospital admissions among people with an obesity diagnosis between the ages of five and 19 who had health issues. In 2000, there were 93 admissions per 1 million of population. By 2012, this had increased to 414 admissions per 1 million of population. If the same figure applies here in Ireland, we are talking about over 2,000 admissions per annum into hospitals as a direct result of overweight or obesity. I think that shows the seriousness of it in terms of cost and demonstrates why it is extremely important that we tackle this problem.

There are no easy solutions. Some people have suggested that we tax sugar, but we already impose a tax rate of 21% on items like sweets, chocolates, confectionery, ice cream, crisps and soft drinks. Should we increase that tax? There is a discussion on that at the moment. One change will not bring about the necessary solution to this problem. It is interesting that the authorities in Denmark have introduced a tax on all foods with more than - I think - 2.3% saturated fat, including pizza, butter, cheese and oil. Given that this tax equates to €2.15 per kilogram of saturation, it works out at approximately 20 cent on a pound of butter. Hungary has also imposed taxes on certain food items that have high levels of salt and sugar. I am not sure that is the solution.

As the Minister has pointed out, there is no single simple solution to this problem. A range of things need to be done over a period of time. For example, we need to focus on the whole area of education, for example by outlining the difficulties that can arise when people are overweight or obese. I was interested to read in a 2011 study conducted by Professor Tim O'Brien in NUI Galway that 54% of parents of overweight children and 20% of parents of obese children reported that their children were approximately the correct weight for their height. If such a high percentage of the parents of children who are obese or overweight feel their children do not have a problem, it is clear that there is a lack of knowledge in this area. The study in question also identified that three quarters of children in Northern Ireland and four fifths of children in the Republic did not meet Government physical activity guidelines. That was back in 2011. I know we have moved on and made some progress since then, but we have a lot of progress to make.

I would like to mention some simple things that could apply in schools. I recall arguing with one of my colleagues about the need for a school to get a hall built. It had been on the agenda for over 18 years. I had been told the project was not included in the building programme of the Department of Education and Skills. More than 400 children were attending the primary school in question, but it had no internal facility for physical activity. The children could not go out if it was wet or the weather conditions were not suitable. In fairness to the Department, it subsequently decided to allocate the funding. The project is now almost complete and I welcome that.

When we are planning housing, we need to make sure we provide adequate facilities for young people to exercise in. When I reflect on the way we have planned housing over the last number of years, I would not necessarily say we were right to impose heavy charges with the intention that local authorities would develop services, many of which subsequently were not necessarily developed on time. I was interested to speak recently to somebody working in Edinburgh who told me about a case in which a builder who purchased over 200 army houses for refurbishment had to assess the facilities required by the young families that were going to live in those houses. The builder was required to extend the local school and provide the playgrounds and other facilities needed by young people at the same time that he was working on the houses. That is the way we need to look at it. We need to consider a number of major issues, the most important of which is education. We also need to make sure we have facilities available for people. It goes right across a number of Departments. There has to be a co-ordinated approach.

I welcome the Minister's decision to have the review completed by the end of the year. It is important, given that we have set out plans before. If one examines what was actually implemented on foot of the 2005 report, I am not sure one will find that huge progress was made in implementation. It is great to produce documents and policies about what we should do, but we should also set target dates for constant review six months, 12 months or two years down the line. That is the only way to ensure the policy decisions that are taken are implemented. I welcome the submission the Minister has made to the House today and his commitment to this issue. It is important that we make progress with how we are dealing with it. We need to try to work towards bringing about solutions.