Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Question 92: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the progress made to date on the implementation of the recommendations of the task force on obesity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8601/06]

Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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The report of the national task force on obesity, Obesity the Policy Challenges, was presented to the Taoiseach in May 2005. The report contains 93 recommendations aimed at tackling overweight and obesity. These relate to actions across six broad sectors: high-level Government; education; social and community; health; food, commodities, production and supply, and the physical environment.

Additional funding of €3 million has been made available to the Health Service Executive to support the implementation of the report's recommendations. The strategic planning and reform implementation of the Heath Service Executive have approved the following projects to take place this year: expanding the healthy food made easy programme; recruiting four physical activity officers to target obesity in all settings, providing four specialist community dietitian posts for obesity and weight management to support all initiatives; the procurement of equipment for growth monitoring; and further progress work with the food service sector on healthy food provision.

A multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary approach is required to implement the recommendations arising from a range of health promotion policies including the report of the national task force on obesity, which was launched in May 2005. The Department is currently considering how this approach could be advanced.