Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 22 Apr 1999

Vol. 503 No. 5

Written Answers. - Health Education Programme.

Bernard Allen

Question:

20 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children the proposals, if any, to include the question of sport, health and the fight against doping in the health promotion and health education programme run jointly with the World Health Organisation and the Council of Europe in more than 500 schools throughout Europe, 15 member states plus 21 other European countries; and the contribution, if any, Ireland is making to this joint programme. [6656/99]

Bernard Allen

Question:

93 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children if he has examined the way in which the programmes under his Department dealing with health promotion can be used in the fight against doping in sport. [6657/99]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Cowen)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 and 93 together.

I am very concerned that anybody engaged in sporting activities would consider using illegal substances to improve their sport related performance. It is, of course, extremely important that we try to get across to everybody, but particularly our young people, that the use of drugs in sport to enhance performance is neither laudable nor acceptable. In this context the health promotion unit of my Department has been involved with programmes that relate to this area and one of these initiatives is the health promoting school initiative referred to by the Deputy in this question.

In 1991 three international agencies in Europe – the European Commission, the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the Council of Europe – launched an innovative project with the idea of integrating health promotion into every aspect of the school setting. To date, 38 European countries, with over 500 pilot schools and more than 10,000 teachers and 500,000 pupils, have joined to form the European network of health promoting schools. Ireland was one of the first countries to join this network and has been a member since 1992.

The effects of various substances on the body, which include the use of drugs such as steroids in attempts to improve sport related performance, will be covered by the health promoting school. Schools are greatly aided in this process by using, at second level, the substance abuse prevention programme produced by the health promotion unit of my Department in conjunction with the Department of Education and Science and the Mater Dei counselling centre and, at primary level, by using the "Walk Tall" materials which were recently launched by my colleague the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Martin.

I have no hesitation in saying that Ireland has been a very active member of this European network and last month my Department and the Department of Education and Science, along with the Marino Institute of Education, held a national conference on the health promoting school entitled Learnings from the Network. This conference sought to disseminate the learnings from the schools involved in the project to date to a wider audience and my Department officials, working with colleagues from the Department of Education and Science, are reviewing the progress made to date with this concept with a view to national dissemination enabling many more schools to participate in this initiative.