Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Jim Daly, to the House. I thank his fellow Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, for her contribution, and wish her husband a speedy recovery. I would like to acknowledge the presence of a former colleague of the Members of this House, former Sinn Féin Senator Kathryn Reilly, who recently became Mrs. Damien Walsh. I want to wish her very well in the future. She is very welcome. Kathryn is now working with the Irish Heart Foundation and has been very helpful to those of all parties where heart health and heart health promotion are concerned. I wish her well in her new position.

I commend Senator Noone, who was single-handedly responsible for getting committee D of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly to compile this excellent report on obesity. I ask any Member of the House who has not had an opportunity to read the report and its recommendations to please do so.

I will be very brief because Senator Noone has outlined the content better than most could, and certainly better than I could. According to the World Health Organization, WHO, childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century. Closer to home, according to A Healthy Weight for Ireland: Obesity Policy and Action Plan 2016–2025, one in four children is overweight or obese. Six out of ten adults are overweight or obese. Prevalence of overweight and obese children was higher in schools in disadvantaged areas. That is an important point to note.

In the most deprived areas, just over one in four people aged 15 and over is obese. That can be compared with a prevalence of fewer than one in six in less deprived areas. The direct and indirect cost of obesity in Ireland is estimated at more than €1.2 billion. Imagine what we could do with that money in the health sector. It is possible to save that cost if we follow an integrated approach, as Senator Noone has called for.

Childhood obesity has consequences not just for the physical health of individuals concerned but also for their emotional and psychological well-being and for the wider economy and society. The fact there is a problem that needs to be addressed is universally recognised among policymakers and health care professionals, yet practical and durable solutions to the problem have proven harder to identify. I think the fact that I, along with Senator Noone and Members of the Lower House, sat in the committee and listened to the contributions that were made before us over a ten-month period gives me some understanding of the seriousness of this problem.

As a committee we heard evidence from politicians from all parties and none, health care practitioners, academic and medical experts, campaigners and those working on the ground alongside children and parents to tackle this issue. We held meetings in London and Cardiff. We held a meeting in Amsterdam, and I want to compliment Senator Noone on proposing that visit. It was hugely beneficial, and the evidence that was heard there is mentioned in detail in the report. The approach there is integrated. It is a bottom-up approach which appears to be working and is definitely worth taking a look at in this country.

We received written material about the situation in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. I pay tribute to our committee secretariat under the chairmanship of Lord Dubs. They were absolutely outstanding and are the reason that this report was compiled in as short a period of time as ten months.

It was very evident was that the links between our consumer markets mean that a consistent approach needs to be taken, particularly between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. During the debate on the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015, I advocated for an all-Ireland 32 county approach to tackling the problem of alcohol. Introducing tariffs on sweets or sugary products in the Republic without the same law applying to the Six Counties will have no effect in the Border region. I would like to see a 32 county approach to this. I do not know what difficulty Brexit will bring, but it is something upon which we should work with the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The way to tackle this is through education and an integrated approach by the various Departments and from the bottom up. When I was going to school in the 1980s, there was a huge emphasis on education around tobacco and the difficulties it caused for people's health. Huge resources were put into it. After a very short period of time, only two out of a class of 35 continued to smoke. If we start with educational material that can be understood by young people, I think it will work. Physical education and food are very important. As a Youthreach co-ordinator, I implemented a programme in Cavan Youthreach offering practical cookery classes not only for the young students, but for their parents. The classes included advice on how to save money by shopping, and how to avoid buying takeaways or jars of sauce by preparing ingredients at home. This knowledge was beneficial to the economy and health of the household and to the general health of the communities the classes were drawn from.

Once again, I thank the Ministers of State at the Department of Health for appearing before the House. I also thank Senator Noone for her commitment to this particular issue and urge her to keep it up.