Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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368. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he had any discussion with the Minister for Education and Skills regarding the introduction of mandatory lifestyle education in schools in order that children are educated at an early age about the health risks of obesity, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol and substance misuse in line with recommendations of his Department's better outcomes brighter futures report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46307/14]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The National Youth Health Programme is a partnership operated by the National Youth Council of Ireland with the Youth Affairs Unit of my Department and the Health Promotion Unit of the HSE respectively.The Programme aims to provide a broad-based, flexible health promotion/education support and training service including making healthy choices in relation to alcohol, to youth organisations and to all those working with young people in the non-formal education setting.

The role of schools in relation to ‘lifeskills’ related issues is to complement the role of parents as primary educators of their children and to ensure that pupils have the essential resilience that will enable them to address a range of difficult issues such as substance abuse, healthy eating, obesity, knowing what is appropriate and what is inappropriate, personal safety, and bullying.

This is mainly achieved through the implementation of the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) curriculum in primary and post primary schools. This programme aims to support pupils in developing a range of generic skills such as communicating, making decisions, knowing where to find reliable data, handling conflict constructively, and expressing feelings and emotions, which will enable them to deal appropriately with the different challenges they may face inside or outside of school.

The SPHE programme is also complemented by aspects of the Physical Education (P.E.) programme, which is implemented in all schools, as well as a range of initiatives that are designed to promote physical activity among pupils in schools. These include the Active Schools Flag which is funded by the Department of Education and Skills and supported by the Department of Health.

In order to build on previous experience and foster greater co-operation in the implementation across Government departments of’ policies on health promotion in the school setting, the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Health, with the Health Service Executive and the Professional Development Service for Teachers have established a Health and Wellbeing Steering Group to develop collaboration as a means of enriching and enhancing the health and wellbeing of children and young people in the school setting. Both service strands bring different and complementary knowledge and understandings about the needs of children and young people and strategies to address these.