Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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311. To ask the Minister for Health if the Health Service Executive will introduce a sugar tax for food and drink sold in hospitals, along the lines of the one recently announced by the National Health Service in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2722/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I would support all evidence based effective measures to tackle obesity. As you are aware, I wrote to the Minister for Finance about a sugar tax before the Budget. The HSE has established a policy on 'healthier vending' and calorie posting. My department will work with them to ensure that healthier food is provided across HSE facilities.

The determinants of obesity are many and involve a myriad of interactions. The range of factors include biological, genetic, environmental, education, skills, income, employment, transport, availability of healthier foods and physical activity. Taxing sugar added drinks is but one of many measures that I am addressing in the National Obesity and Action Plan which is in the final stages of its development. Furthermore, my Department is working on a number of measures which include legislation for calorie posting on menus, a Code of Practice for the food industry in relation to advertising, product placement and sponsorship and new healthy eating guidelines and food pyramid. The matter of reformulation of food products to reduce the sugar, fat and salt contents of food is also under active consideration by my Department.