163. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance for an update on the programme for Government commitment to consider tax measures to encourage gym membership. [9526/26]

Sentiment score: 0.24

Given the rate of osteoporosis in Ireland and the problem with regard to fragility fractures, I would be grateful for an update on the commitments in the programme for Government to consider tax measures to encourage gym membership to allow for strength and resistance training.

Sentiment score: 0.85

I acknowledge and am very enthusiastic about the enormous investment that we have made in sport, but this is really about measures to increase strength, resistance training and flexibility. We know that about 250,000 people have osteoporosis in Ireland - approximately 20% of women and 6.2% of men aged over 50. Annually, we see in the order of 32,000 fragility fractures, basically because of lack of strength. The estimated cost of that to our health service is €464 million annually, not to mention the pain to the individuals concerned. Given our ageing population and the challenges here, this could rise to a €1 billion within the next decade. We need to have sufficient resistance and strength training among all of our population. There is a very clear commitment in the programme for Government to develop that. We need to look at examples in other countries like Canada and Singapore that have done this. We need to be able to build up that strength and resistance training because in the long term it is a saving on our health budget.

Sentiment score: 0.31

I thank the Tánaiste and I look forward to engaging further on it. I know he is serious about this. However, I always wonder when "dead weight" is mentioned by the dead hand of the Department of Finance.

Sentiment score: -0.08

If I have a fragility fracture, I can get a tax relief on my healthcare expenses, I can get tax relief on my nursing home expenses, and I can get tax relief if I go to a physiotherapist, an osteopath or a chiropractor, but if I decide to join to join the gym in order to be able to build my resistance, I will not get tax relief. There is a long-term financial saving on the health side. I have made this case often before. We need to think about the Department of Health not as a Department of sickness and illness. We have to look at ways of ensuring that as we live longer - one of the big successes of this country is the fact that we are now living to an average age of 83 - we can ensure that we live healthily in old age. Part of that is through strength and resistance training, which gym membership offers.

Sentiment score: 0.31

The Minister of State is entirely correct in that the best insurance is where we have the necessary flood protection and indeed coastal protection schemes. In some of the communities near where I live, such as Arklow, Aughrim and Enniscorthy, recently we have witnessed the dramatic impacts of floods. I wish to focus on Bunclody where they had floods for the first time in 60 years where people did have insurance, particularly along Ryland Road, on some of the properties. Now those businesses and homes do not expect to be able to get it into the future. I am certainly open in terms of the suggestion that has been made to exploring until we can guarantee that those flood protection schemes are put in place that we can guarantee those homeowners and business owners some degree of security until the necessary protections are in place.

Sentiment score: 0.36