Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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516. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will undertake a study with regard to the way fast food outlets and supermarkets who undertake special cheap deals targeted at lunch times and schoolchildren can be curtailed in the interest of combatting the growing levels of youth obesity. [53837/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Responsibility for the regulation of food and beverage providers lies with the Department of Health and, through it, with the HSE and Food Safety Authority of Ireland. I understand that this remit currently focusses on food safety rather than nutritional content.

The Minister of Health has established a Special Advisory Group on Obesity on which a member of my Department sits. This has been working with food providers on a variety of initiatives including calorie posting on menus which many providers are now undertaking. The Food safety Authority is working on developing a calorie counter tool for cafes and restaurants which will make that job easier for small operations that do not have the resources to do this. This will help young people and families make more informed choices about what they eat. Discussions are also underway with vending machine operators and schools, to ensure the majority of produce available from vending machines falls into the healthier choice category.

I will be happy to arrange for the Deputy's suggestion regarding the curtailment of fast food deals targeted at school children to be brought to the attention of the Special Advisory group on Obesity for consideration.