Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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94. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware that, according to the Healthy Ireland Survey 2022, 63% of men and 50% of women in Ireland were classified as overweight or obese; if she will consider introducing or expanding nutritional and health education in schools to address these disparities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24792/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My Department works together with the Department of Health and other agencies to support students in the area of health promotion. My Department acknowledges the commitment of schools in promoting healthy lifestyle choices for students in a number of ways - through the curriculum, for example Home Economics, Physical Education and Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE); through school policies including healthy lunch policies; and by the use of resources and programmes chosen by the school such as the Active School Flag (ASF). Work by my Department in this area aims to equip students with the skills and knowledge to enable them to make the right choices to maintain healthy lifestyles throughout their lives. My Department has issued circulars 0013/2016 and 00561/2015 to all primary and post primary schools respectively on the Promotion of Healthy Lifestyles.

Guidelines are available to schools on developing a healthy eating policy, which have been developed by the Department of Health and the HSE.

In relation to healthy eating, my Department supports Agri Aware’s Incredible Edibles programme, a healthy eating initiative for primary school pupils. The programme is also supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Health. It encourages schools across the country to grow carrots, lettuce, potatoes, strawberries, turnips and herbs. Schools are supplied with grow packs, activity sheets and videos containing everything needed to grow these foods.

In addition, the Food Dudes Programme is a healthy eating programme developed to encourage children to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables. It is implemented in primary schools and is based on repeated tastings of fruit and vegetables supported by positive role modelling and rewards. The Food Dudes Healthy Eating Programme is managed by Bord Bia in Ireland and is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with support from the European Union under the School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme.

Teaching and learning in the subject of Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) also addresses healthy behaviours. The current primary SPHE curriculum is divided into three strands – Myself; Myself and Others; Myself and the Wider World. Under the strand ‘Myself’, food and nutrition is a major component of the ‘Taking Care of My Body’ unit. At all levels in primary school, topics include: becoming aware of the importance of food; discussing and exploring some qualities and categories of food; and examining dietary needs and identifying the nutrients that are necessary in a balanced diet.

The Junior Cycle SPHE curriculum, introduced in September 2023, includes a strand on Making Healthy Choices, including a learning outcome where students should be able to “consider the multifaceted nature of health and wellbeing, and evaluate what being healthy might look like for different adolescents, including how food, physical activity, sleep/rest and hygiene contribute to health and wellbeing”.

An updated Senior Cycle SPHE specification was published in September 2024. Schools have until 2027 to introduce this new specification in order to allow for necessary preparatory work. The ‘Health and Wellbeing’ strand includes among its outcomes that students should be able to explore the determinants of good health and investigate ways a person can influence their holistic health, including physical activity, food, sleep, social connections, positive self-image and connecting with nature, and discuss how these are related.