School sports needed to combat obesity - FG

19/10/2006 - 14:34:32
Fine Gael is calling for the provision of more school sports facilities to combat Ireland's growing levels of child obesity.

The party says a survey it carried out has found that three-quarters of schools have no sports hall, while one-quarter of children do less than an hour of PE at school every week.

Fine Gael's spokesman on sport, Jimmy Deenihan, is calling for schools to be allowed apply for National Lottery funding to help address the situation.

He says helping children form healthy habits in early life will encourage them to continue those habits into adulthood.