There was no sign of proportional representation in the choice of TDs for the Department of Health's annual healthy-eating challenge, with the Dáil's heavyweights all conspicuously absent.
In terms of fat, most of the volunteers - such as Fianna Fáil's Charlie O'Connor and Fine Gael's Olivia Mitchell - had already lost their deposits (if they had any to start with). Likewise Labour's Mary Upton and the PDs' Fiona O'Malley. Only the Greens' Dan Boyle had a surplus for redistribution and, by Dáil standards, even his seat was marginal.
Also, the event again excluded Sinn Féin, though surely encouraging the Shinners to choose healthier food could only help the peace process? You are what you eat, after all, and with a bit more fruit and vegetables in their diet, maybe republicans could shed all their excess poundage (hint, hint).
On the other hand, the healthy-eating challenge now includes fitting TDs with pedometers to count their steps during the event. This is part of a State-wide anti-obesity drive, but Sinn Féin leaders are known to be nervous about having monitoring devices fitted. So perhaps the Health Promotion Unit's policy of inviting only the five biggest parties is a wise one. At any rate, the chosen TDs headed for Dunnes as usual yesterday, tasked with feeding a family of four for one day with only €16 (assuming staples were already bought) and with specific recipes in mind.
Not surprisingly, there was a lot of overlap in their shopping lists, but there were some interesting variations. For example Dan Boyle, a member of the Greens' carnivorous wing, planned a trendy chicken fajitas dinner, whereas Olivia Mitchell intended to serve her chicken "stuffed with prunes", continuing a Fine Gael tradition that stretches back to the Civil War (they weren't called "the regulars" for nothing).
At the end of the allotted 20 minutes, the volunteers repaired to Dunnes' restaurant, where their purchases were studied by the HPU's consultant dietician, Ursula O'Dwyer.
Their pedometer readings were also taken, but this turned into the electronic voting debacle all over again as TDs variously pleaded they'd reset dials by accident or that the readings were otherwise inaccurate. Needless to say, there was no paper trail to aid scrutiny.
At least the shopping bags produced a clear result, with the fiercely competitive Fiona O'Malley taking the overall honours, not for the first time. A cause for concern, however, was the issue of tax-payers' money.
The organisers did allow discounts on the price of any item not likely to be used in a single day, and by this measure all the volunteers were within budget. But at least four of the five TDs went over the €16 allocation. So no change there.
