asked the Minister for Health if he will request the Health Education Bureau to give publicity to the findings on low cost foods and nutritional requirements by the consultants to the National Prices Commission; if he is satisfied that adequate information in regard to nutrition is available to those on low incomes, in particular those vulnerable groups such as the old and young children; and if there is evidence of malnutrition in Ireland among any such group.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Nutritional Problems.
3.
The Food Advisory Committee concluded in a recent report on a Food and Nutrition Policy for Ireland, that available evidence suggests the overall nutritional status of the majority of the population to be satisfactory but that defined nutritional problems exist in specific sub-groups. These problems were found to exist in all socio-economic and biological groups and are not confined to the particular groups referred to by the Deputy in his question.
The Committee have also established that information on nutrition is not routinely provided to the public and, as a result, the level of nutritional knowledge in the population is low. This undoubtedly has contributed to adverse dietary practices.
In order to achieve the prevention of diet-related illness and disease by the promotion of sound nutritional practices in the community, the Health Education Bureau are about to commence public education programmes on nutrition. These programmes will be aimed at both the public in general and at specific groups within the population and will be implemented in a co-ordinated manner through the educational and health-care systems. The reports of the National Prices Commission on "Low Cost Foods and Nutritional Requirements" will be used by the bureau in their development of the programmes.
The Deputy will be interested to know that, on the advice of my Department, the National Prices Commission routtinely circulates these reports to relevant groups and personnel in the food, nutrition and public health sectors.
Would the Minister agree, despite the fact that our general nutrition is high, that there are some groups in our society who, in this very prosperous country compared with international standards, suffer from malnutrition, that this situation has existed for many years now and that it is about time something was done about it? Would the Minister indicate at what specific group he intends to direct this information?
As indicated by the report, there are different categories within different groups, for example, in childhood overweight and obesity was shown to be the problem in the affluent sectors while at the opposite end of the scale there is evidence of a deficiency of protein and of calorie intake in children of travelling people. In relation to the elderly the report indicated that the dietary intake shows a deficiency in energy or in one or more nutrients. This can contribute to a wide range of nutrient-related conditions. The Health Education Bureau will be responding to the different groups in their programme.
Would the Minister agree that part of the problem is that deprived groups have tended to have to rely unduly, because of lack of cooking facilities, on preserved or canned foods which generally are lower in nutritional value than are fresh foods and that this is a problem that needs to be addressed? Is he aware also that because of this factor the same group have perhaps to pay more for their preserved foods than they would pay for fresh produce? Is it not necessary to have a comprehensive look at this whole problem with a view to bringing forward recommendations to eliminate malnutrition, a problem that should not exist in a society at our stage of development?
It is principally a question of health education at different levels because, as I have indicated from the report, even the presence of a considerable amount of money is not enough if there is a lack of health education and that consequently, there are different forms of malnutrition. These elements will be taken into consideration in the Health Education Bureau studies.