John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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217. To ask the Minister for Health the plans he has to bring forward a Public Health (Obesity) Bill to deal with the obesity crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11718/23]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for Government “Our Shared Future” published in June 2020 contained a commitment to “Work with key stakeholders to introduce a Public Health Obesity Act, including examining restrictions on promotion and advertising aimed at children”.

The policy instrument for obesity in Ireland is “A Healthy Weight for Ireland’, the Obesity Policy and Action Plan (OPAP), which was launched in September 2016 as part of the Healthy Ireland Framework.? The OPAP covers a 10-year period up to 2025 and aims to reverse obesity trends, prevent health complications and reduce the overall burden for individuals, families, the health system, and the wider society and economy.

The Department of Health carried out a Review of the OPAP which provides an update as to the current status of some of the main deliverables in the Ten Steps to end October 2022. It also aligns the Ten Steps suite of population-health approaches in OPAP with the WHO European Regional Obesity Report 20225 and the policy options the WHO recommends on managing obesity throughout the life course, thus signposting key actions to consider out to 2025. The Review of OPAP by the Department of Health was published in November 2022 and can be found on the Healthy Ireland website at gov.ie - Healthy Ireland Policies (www.gov.ie).

There is currently no timeline for the development of a Public Health Obesity Bill. However, in relation to specific legislation relating to promotion and advertising aimed at children in the context of addressing obesity, my colleague, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaelteacht, Sport and Media ("TCAGSM"), brought the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill through the Houses of the Oireachtas and it was signed into law on 10 December 2022. Following its commencement by the Minister, the Online Safety and Media Regulation (OSMR) Act 2022 will dissolve the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), establish a multi-person Media Commission (to be known as Coimisiún na Meán) as the body responsible for overseeing the regulation of broadcasting and video on-demand services and introducing the new regulatory framework for online safety, implementing the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive into Irish law and for supporting the development of the wider media sector in Ireland.

This regulatory framework will be created through binding regulatory media service codes and rules and online safety codes to govern the standards and practice of broadcasters, providers of audiovisual on-demand media services, and designated online services.

These standards and practices that can be addressed through regulatory codes and rules include the advertisement of certain foods and beverages. In this regard, the Act states that codes and rules may prohibit or restrict the inclusion in programmes or user-generated content of commercial communications considered by An Coimisiún to be the subject of public concern in respect of the general public health interests of children, in particular infant formula, follow-on formula or those foods or beverages which contain fat, trans-fatty acids, salts or sugars. The Act further provides that An Coimisiún may consult with public health authorities in relation to proposed restrictions or prohibitions.

Officials from the Department have engaged with their counterparts in the Department of TCAGSM to enable the process for working with An Coimisiún to progress work on developing regulatory codes and rules with regard to advertisement of certain foods and beverages that fall within the scope of this legislation.

A significant amount of work has already been progressed at an EU level with regard to the marketing of unhealthy foods to children. Since 2020, Ireland has participated in a Work Package on Restricting the marketing of unhealthy foods to children and adolescents under the EU Joint Action “Best ReMaP” (Best practices in Reformulation, Marketing and public Procurement), working with 15 other Member States.

The EU Framework for Action is the final deliverable of the Joint Action Best-ReMaP Work Package 6, expected to be finalized by September 2023. This framework will contain all the tools developed by the Work Package, including a WHO/EU harmonized Nutrient Profiling Model and an EU coordinated monitoring protocol and technical guidance to implement best practices when restricting marketing of unhealthy foods to children as mentioned above.

Member States have also recently established National Intersectoral Working Groups, to facilitate the implementation of the food marketing tools developed by the Joint Action Best-ReMaP and the integration of policies into national legislation after the end of the Joint Action.